Dragon's Wishing Well
by DragonofYang
Summary: This is a story that takes place in the InuYasha universe centered around an OC hanyou by the name of Akurei Hayashi from our time. Being an amalgamation of demons like Naraku, she gains power with every demon she sucks the lifeblood of. But she's on Inuyasha and Kagome's side. But will her power help them, or will the demonic blood within her destroy her new-found family?
1. I: Down the Rabbit Hole

**Chapter I: Down the Rabbit Hole**

Akurei had no idea what hit her when she fell down the rabbit hole, so to speak. She was just listening to her music on her way home from school when the bigger students shoved her out into the road. She regained her footing, but fell immediately after. She heard the howls of laughter turn to screams and the next thing she knew, she was sitting in the middle of a bone-riddled cave. "Wha-?" she started. Suddenly, a monster out of some kind of fantasy novel entered, apparently living in the cave. She quickly crouched down, hoping to go unnoticed by the demon, or whatever it was. The creature caught her scent and screeched. "Holy crap!" Akurei screamed in response. The thing was finally visible and it was horrid. It had the body of a centipede and the torso of a man with a snake's head and it was covered in blood, gristle, and who knows what else. The appearance may have been nasty, but it was nothing compared to the stench. The beast smelled of blood and decay and fire. Akurei started to sneeze. The demon moved with lightning-speed and wrapped its body around the girl, starting to suffocate her. "Let—me go—you—!" she started, but quit when the demon jerked her, cutting off her air. Then it wrapped its body around her shoulders, covering her nose and mouth. She held out for as long as she could, not wanting the foul smell in her mouth and nose, but she just had to breathe. She felt the constriction on her chest and couldn't breathe deeply and some of its flesh got into her mouth. She bit it, hoping she could make it let go. Instead, she just got blood streaming in a hot, foul river into her nose and mouth, forcing her to swallow it, drown trying to spit it out, or drown trying to keep her mouth clear to breathe. She drank, loathing every mouthful and getting gallons poured onto her, but at last, the demon collapsed as a shriveled corpse with not a drop of moisture in its body. The smell, the shock, the blood, it was all too much for Akurei. She fell to the ground, passed out.

Sometime later, she awoke. She tried to stand, but her legs weren't working the way they should. "What's going on?" she wondered. She sat up and rubbed her pounding head. Suddenly, she felt something furry brush her hand. The girl pulled at it to see what it was, but yelped when it hurt her. "What the hell?" she muttered. She rummaged for her bag and pulled out her small mirror. She saw that she had fuzzy wolf or dog ears. Akurei tugged at them again and yelped when that hurt her. She rubbed them, and toyed with them and tried to move them for about an hour. Suddenly, her new ears picked up a sound. The sound of screams came to her and she smelled the scent of fresh human blood. She tried to get up, but when she did, she fell backward because her balance was still off. She looked at her feet and screamed. Her feet looked like talons! Someone screamed again and she jumped up and started running and tripped on an old skull. She scrambled up again and took off. Her balance was much better than before and she looked back and saw that she had a tail. Her eyes widened and she ran faster, towards the burning village. People were on horses with torches and spears and other weapons, shouting and yelling. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" she screamed. Some villagers caught sight of her and started running, only to be trapped by the men. Akurei ignored the villagers and focused on the men. They caught sight of her and charged towards her. "Get her!" one of them screamed. Akurei leapt up and the next thing she remembered, there were dead bodies littered around her. But only the raiders and plunderers were killed. The villagers had all run off. She went looking for something to clean the blood off and came across a river. She leapt in and started to bathe. Her clothes were relatively unscathed, so she put them on again. She put her boots in her bag and started walking, trying to get used to her new body. _Why do I have this?_ She wondered. _Why is my body different now?_ Her ears pricked at the slightest sound and her nose picked up some scents she ordinarily wouldn't have been able to. She kept walking along the pathway for a few more hours, not running into anyone for long. Those who did pass by her would see her, and then run away. After a while, she ran quite literally into a few people wearing strange armor. She looked up, an apology on her lips, when the fist came down right on her cheek. She staggered back, vision slightly blurry, and yelled, "What in the hell was that for?!" The reply came in the form of a blade attempting to hack through her shoulder. She yelped and staggered back. Turning to run, someone threw a chain around her and yanked. Akurei fell back writhing. She opened her eyes and saw a girl and a boy standing over her. The girl had black, pink, and red armor while the boy had black, yellow, and teal armor. The boy's blade was stained with blood: her blood. The girl had what appeared to be a giant boomerang, but she was holding the chain ends that imprisoned her. "You realize it's rude to try killing people that ran into you, right?" she said, sarcastically.

"Shut up, monster," one of them said. They were wearing masks, so it was difficult to tell who was speaking. The voice sounded female, though.

"Come on. What did I ever do to you guys?"

"Silence, demon."

_Demon?_ She thought surprised. Her face must have shown her confusion because one of them scoffed and said, "Your body and ears are proof enough."

"Oh," Akurei replied, "Well, actually, I didn't mean for them to appear. I got attacked by a demon and—"

"I said silence!" the girl shouted, yanking on the chains.

Akurei yelped and squirmed, trying to escape the tight bonds that held her. "Why are you doing this?"

"You are a demon. It is our job to slay beasts such as yourself."

"So you're demon hunters?"

"Yes."

"Hm," Akurei mused, "Well then, would you mind explaining where in the world I am? Since you two seem like the types who know where they're going, you should be able to answer my question."

"You're a day's ride from the village," the girl said. She turned to the boy and said, "End her."

"No!"

Akurei struggled against the chains and let loose a wolfish howl to try and get somebody's help. The boy, raised his blade and brought it down on the demon girl. She screamed as the point bit into her other shoulder, "Help! Somebody, help me!" She curled into a smaller ball and covered her head. Suddenly, a large pack of black wolves came tearing down the slope with several men right behind them, all growling at the demon hunters.

"Eh? What's this? A couple of big-shot demon hunters picking on one who won't even fight? That's just sad," one of the men said. "Just be on your way, fools. You're outnumbered." The two looked down at Akurei and back at the demons. They seemed to think better of a confrontation and turned to take a different road. When they were gone, Akurei sighed in relief and tried to pull the chain off, but winced when it rubbed her cuts.

"You idiot. Don't you know you don't have to let them walk all over you like that?" A younger-looking boy crouched down beside her. His whitish gold hair fell forward as he gently began untangling her from her chains, taking great care to avoid worsening her cuts in her shoulders. Akurei watched him with wide eyes as he showed her the first kindness she'd seen since she was attacked by that demon. "You won't…hurt me?" she asked, tentatively.

"Why would I hurt you? Just keep still and I'll get these off you."

"Because everyone seems angry that I'm not human. I thought I was, but I guess not," she looked away, scared. "Who are you, anyway?" she asked.

"I'm Okami. What's your name, pretty one?"

"Akurei," she said, blushing. She looked toward the wolf demon again. He was checking the depth of her wounds, "We'll have to go back to the camp to fix you up. Hey guys!" he called, "I'm going to take her back to the den."

"What!"

"No way!"

"I heard Koga was still visiting!" the others shouted.

"Come on, she needs help. I'll patch her up and then we can send her on her way. That okay with you?" Okami asked, turning to the half-demon. She looked up at him and nodded. "Could you help me up? I'm not sure I can stand."

"Sure, here," he held his hand out and helped her get up, "Wow, you really aren't steady on your feet are you?" he asked, noticing her dog-like paws.

"Not in the least. I have no clue how to walk. The tail helps with the balance, but I definitely can't walk yet."

"You have a tail?" he asked, surprised. In response, Akurei lifted the thin tip of her tail into the air, the light fur feathering whispering lightly in the breeze. He whistled through his teeth and wrapped his arm around her to support her while she stood. "Here, try walking," he said after she got steady. She nodded and took a few wobbly steps and stopped to regain her balance. After a few minutes, she took a few more. Okami followed close behind to make sure she didn't fall or anything. The others were waiting for them to get moving so they could hurry back to the Tribe.

"Come on, Okami!"

"Yeah!"

"Let's go!"

"Coming!" he called back. "You ready? We'll be running pretty far."

Akurei smiled grimly, "I should be able to make it if I've survived this long."

He patted her back gently, "Then let's get going."

"Right." Akurei took a few steps away from him, then proceeded to destroy what was left of her tank top and then made it a wrap to cover her chest. _Man, those demon-hunters really had it out for my clothes,_ she thought. After she finished, she lunged into an easy jog after the waiting wolf demons at the top of the hill.


	2. II: Dog, Wolf, and Dragon

**Chapter II: Wolf and Dragon**

Several hours later, Akurei, Okami, the wolves, and the two other demons were making their way towards the cliff face where the Northern Tribe had its encampment. "Watch your step. Unless you have quick reflexes, you can take a nasty fall here," Okami warned Akurei.

"Okay. Thanks for the warning," she replied. She leapt lightly onto a stone and as it tottered, she jumped up, causing it to fall down. As Akurei landed lightly, she called, "Come on! What are you waiting for? Don't we have to hurry to meet this Koga person?"

"Wait! We have to escort you in!" one of them shouted, Aki, Akurei thought. He ran up the slope after her.

"Ugh, Akurei! Seriously!" the other yelped.

"Okay, I don't know how long this will hold for, though," she replied, tapping the stone. "And besides, I'm curious. You all seem either terrified or eager to get to Koga, whoever he is."

"I've told you before: he's the young leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe of the East. He's highly esteemed because he's one of the most powerful wolf demons ever. He's here visiting some old friends and trying to make peace with the other tribes," Aki said. He jumped up to a rock about two feet above her and stretched a hand down. "Here, let's get going."

"Thanks," Akurei pulled herself up and jumped to another rock. Okami stayed close, but out of her way and followed her up to make sure she didn't fall. A few minutes later, Aki leapt up and disappeared into what appeared to be a crevice. Okami bounded around Akurei and when he disappeared, he popped his head out and reached down, "Here, watch your head. Koga's curious about who we brought back, so I'm sorry if you get uncomfortable. I'll get some bandages for your shoulders. Those field bandages are probably soaked through."

"Just gonna warn you now, I'm jumping so I'm sorry if you get whacked," she warned. Grabbing his hand, she jumped up and caught the ledge with her arms as her paws scrambled for purchase. Okami pulled her up and she winced as the rocks scratched her belly and legs. "Phew! I haven't had that fun of a climb in a while."

"Who's this?" a voice boomed from the interior of the cave. Akurei looked up and saw a multitude of reflected eyes. One pair in particular stood out. The others reflected greenish gold, but one demon's eyes reflected a clear blue. As her eyes adjusted, she saw that Blue Eyes was a male demon with a high ponytail and was clad in brown wolf pelts rather than Okami, Aki, and Daiki's black pelts. A wolf tail swished behind him as he walked over to her. "What's your name?" he asked. His voice was kind of husky, but his face was kind as he smiled down at her.

"I'm Akurei. Who—who are you?" she stuttered, shocked.

"I'm Koga, Leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe of the East," he said, "I heard the scouting party found something interesting. Are you what they found, Akurei?"

"I guess. Okami, Aki, and Daiki saved me from getting killed by some demon hunters." Akurei looked over at the trio as they pored through her bag. Shuffling around, she checked to see if she had a spare shirt or something to rip into bandages. Sadly there was nothing to use so she pulled out a handkerchief. She peeled a few scraps of fabric away from the cuts and dabbed at them. Akurei hissed when she saw how deep it was.

"Oh, here. Let me take care of those," Okami pulled out strips of linen and began rewrapping her wounds.

"So, Koga, I heard you were visiting here. What's the special occasion?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, I'm visiting a few old friends, but also I heard that there was some unrest among the other tribes, so I'm trying to see what the deal is," he said somewhat distractedly, "Hey, Okami, you done with her wounds yet? We need to catch up. It's been a while since I last beat your skinny hide," he finished with a grin.

"Yeah, like you could take me," Okami responded matching the leader's grin. Akurei looked at one, then the other. She looked down again, not sure what was going on. Out of awkwardness, she looked at her bandages and noticed that they were good and clean now, but Akurei's grubby skin seemed like it was teeming with disease and filth. She looked up again, about to ask Okami where to bathe, when Koga stood suddenly and motioned for one of the girls clad in black to come. She came with her eyes lowered and said, "Yes, Koga?"

"Would you take, what's your name again?" he turned to Akurei.

"Akurei," she murmured.

"Akurei, here, and help get her cleaned up? We'll see about what to do with her then."

The girl nodded and stepped forward to take the other girl by the hand. Akurei stood and shouldered her backpack. The two left right as the voices began to pick up again, only more wary. The demons within seemed uncomfortable that there was a girl there with the strange clothing and wanted to know everything about her arrival. One voice seemed to be defending her, Okami, she guessed. As the voices faded behind them, the girl turned abruptly and said, "I'll keep watch, just go through these vines and enter the bathing pool. Nobody should be there now."

"Thanks," Akurei murmured. The girl nodded and leapt into the bushes, disappearing. "Wow. I wonder where I am?" the half-demon inquired. She shrugged and stepped through to have a soft cloud of steam welcome her.

After setting her bag down, Akurei stepped cautiously into the water, satisfied that there seemed to be a ledge a few feet down. She unwrapped her bandages again and cleaned them along with herself. After soaking and making sure the wounds weren't infected, she wrung the cloths out and rewrapped her shoulders as best she could. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any significant damage and they already looked much better than they had when she first wrapped them. She peered down at her legs again and noticed that there seemed to be scales growing out of her flesh. They faded when they got to the middle of her thighs and had human skin covering them from there up, but her legs looked too strange for them to be a wolf or dogs'. They were wiry, as most animals' legs are, but they were scaly and taloned much like the dragons of old. Her tail was the same. It looked an awful lot like those of the Chinese and Japanese Lung, but it didn't seem like it. "Maybe I'm dreaming and I'll wake up soon," she muttered. Sighing, she decided she soaked long enough and climbed out of the bath. Looking for a shirt, she found that the one she was wearing was little more than rags, filthy and torn to ribbons as it was. "Um, hello?" she called. "Excuse me, but where are you?"

A rustle in the bushes came from her right, "You called?" a voice called.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you could—Gyah!" she fell back and scrambled to get covered up right as she noticed she was talking to Okami and not the girl that had brought her. "Dammit, you scared me!" she panted.

"Sorry, Akurei. I thought you were calling me. You said you had a question?" he apologized.

"Yeah, um, you see, my clothes are kind of ruined, so I was wondering if you could loan me some. If it's not too much trouble that is," she said, looking down. Her ears picked up the sound of him moving closer and she looked up. He was holding a small parcel of black fabric or something. She couldn't tell what it was. "Here," he said, "we make our own clothes, but here are some materials that might help you."

"Thanks," she took the parcel and unfolded it. There were some wolf pelts, of course, pieces of armor, and some kind of soft fabric that looked like scales. There was a lot of the scaly fabric. "What's this fabric made of?" she asked.

"That's dragons' skin. It changes color to match the soul of the wearer. I wonder why it's black though," Okami responded.

"It matches the soul of the wearer, right?" she asked. She unwrapped a long strip of it about a foot and a half wide by four feet and wrapped it around her waist. She secured it with a good scrap of fur, taking care to not strangle her tail. After that was comfortable, she secured the chest plate, but the shoulder straps were broken, so she wrapped fur to help hold it up and then used linen to tie it up. She secured it over one shoulder, and wrapped some of the dragon's skin around her forearms, forming gauntlets. Once she was dressed, she examined the last, large piece of dragon skin. Shrugging, she swung it over her shoulders into a cloak and tied it off. "There we go. This is really comfortable. Thanks," she smiled at the demon. "S—sure thing," Okami responded.

"Want to go back? I have a feeling they're wondering where I ran off to," Akurei asked. She grabbed her bag and Okami, and they left the hot spring.


	3. III: New Life

**Chapter III: New Life**

"Yo! Koga! We're back!" Okami shouted. Akurei jumped and her ears flattened.

"Hey! Bring Akurei! We'll see what we'll do with her as soon as you're up!" he shouted back. He turned and disappeared into the cave.

"I think they'll be pleased to know that you've found such a good use for the dragon skin," Okami told her. Akurei nodded and said, "Let's get movin'." She leapt up and began scaling the cliff face with Okami right behind her.

A few minutes later, Okami helped Akurei up into the cave, only this time, she managed to get a foothold. "Hey, they're back! Koga! We're ready to start!" one of the wolf demons clad in brown called.

"Is he one of the members of the eastern tribe?" Akurei murmured.

"Yes, his name's Ginta. I haven't seen him in a while," Okami replied. "Each wolf demon tribe has different pelt colors: brown for the East, tan for the South, gold for the West, white for those in the northern mountains, and black for those of the North. Like me," he grinned.

"So what's with this business of what to do with me?" Akurei asked.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure, but my guess is they're going to decide if they're going to take you in here, have Koga take you for whatever purpose, see if any of the other tribes wants you, or if we're supposed to leave you somewhere to fend for yourself. My guess is that you'll get to stay."

"I hope so. I don't think I'd live long on my own. I don't know how to survive as a demon—" she stopped, suddenly smelling something odd. It smelled old, and musty, but also like a filthy beast. Suddenly blood reached her nostrils and she ran over to the edge of the cave. A giant bird demon flies up, one of the demons on guard still dangling from its mouth. Akurei growled and ran towards it, leaping onto it. The bird screeched and nearly dropped the demon. "Shut up!" Akurei screamed at it. She poked one of its three eyes and glanced down at the one in its mouth. It was the girl who helped Akurei get to the spring! The bird's head jerked and Akurei hit it again, this time cutting it. The scent of blood hit her and her eyes began to glow demonic purple. Without thinking, Akurei scuttled down to the bird's neck and bit. It screeched and almost dropped the girl again, but didn't. Akurei drank and drank the blood of the beast and felt her power grow. Suddenly, her cloak blew back and two black raven wings beat the air behind her. Her feet strengthened and were no longer spindly and weak. The bird gave one last caw and crumpled into dust and feathers. A pink shard fell and Akurei caught it. Eyes still glowing, she assessed the body as it blew away into the wind. When she looked down, she saw the girl was falling. Akurei angled herself and wrapped her arms around the girl and spread her wings. They caught the air and swung them into a graceful loop, bringing them back to a safe height above the cave. The girl flapped tenuously and steered clumsily towards the cave, banging to a stop on the cave floor. Suddenly, a torrent of voices was around them.

"Akurei!"

"Yuki!"

"Are you alright?!"

"That was amazing!"

"What just happened?"

Suddenly the voices stopped as Akurei struggled to sit up under the mass of feathers. Finally, she managed to pull herself into a sitting position with her wings laying mostly straight behind her. "I think she's hurt, you guys. Can you help her?" she asked. The others stared at the wings, the blood staining Akurei's jaw, and the teeth marks carved in Yuki's legs. A couple of Northern demons moved forward and picked up Yuki. Another brought bandages for them. "Akurei! Are you hurt?" Okami forced his way through the crowd, hair gleaming like white gold. "You're covered in blood again, you idiot," he crouched down and began checking her shoulders. "Your wounds haven't reopened, thank god," he muttered. "But why are you covered in blood?"

"It's not mine. Most of it is probably from that bird demon, but it definitely isn't mine."

"Ah," he looked back towards her face, "Your eyes—they're purple."

"They are?" Akurei asked, surprised. "Could somebody hand me my bag?" she asked. Lots of hands began searching and finally, a pair of them brought forward her backpack. "Thanks," she said. After rummaging around for a few minutes, she pulled out the mirror and managed to watch her eyes fade from violet demon eyes to their natural silver irises. But her eyes had slitted pupils. She bit her lip and winced when her teeth cut into her mouth. Akurei rubbed her hand across her mouth and felt sharp fangs where her human canine teeth once lay.

"Good job, Akurei. You reacted quickly to help a demon you didn't even know. Maybe it'll be okay if you do stay," a voice called ruefully, interrupting Akurei's reverie. She looked up and saw Koga walking towards her. "How would you like to stay? Or you could come with me if the leader of the Northern Tribes doesn't want you," he looked pointedly at Daiki. Daiki scoffed and replied, "I'd be happy to take her in, but I want to know if the clan accepts her."

There was a chorus of yesses and lots of nodding.

Daiki nodded and said, "Then, Akurei, unless you so choose, you will be an honorary member of the Northern Wolf Demon Tribe."

"Thank you," she replied, "And thank you for the offer, Koga, but I think I'll stay here a while longer."

He smiled and said, "Feel free to stop by whenever. I have a feeling the Northern and Eastern Tribes will get along quite well now. Whaddya think, Daiki?"

He nodded and Okami hugged Akurei. She returned it and suddenly, the entire pack was sniffing her, hugging her, patting her, and just welcoming her to the pack in general. _I belong somewhere finally,_ she thought happily.


	4. IV: Random Twist of Fate

**Chapter IV: Life, Liberty, and a Random Twist of Fate**

Akurei was just patrolling the border of the Tribe's territory a few days after being accepted into the clan. Eager to prove herself, she wasn't expecting her next step to send her into the middle of twenty-first century Tokyo. The sudden onslaught of noise, light, and smell dizzied the girl and she swayed on her feet, bumping into a short boy with long blond hair. She backed up, and suddenly a woman screamed. Akurei whirled around and saw the woman was staring and pointing at Akurei. Well, more specifically, at Akurei's ears. The flapping of her cloak caused the woman to scream again as she caught sight of the claws that punctuated each toe. Without thinking, Akurei ran straight towards her and leapt twenty feet into the air. She landed on the top of the light pole and clung for dear life as other people began screaming and shouting. A thunderous crack broke into the noise and everyone started running away from her. The pole shivered with the resonance of the gunshot since it struck the pole, just barely missing her claws and tail. Two more shots followed and one of them clipped Akurei's leg. She hissed and lashed her tail in pain. Another shot went through her cloak. "What is that?!" someone shouted.

"What are you doing?!" Akurei shouted down at them. Then she noticed that her tail and legs were exposed to the open air, and that she was the enemy in their eyes. She turned and looked for a way out. Her eyes rested on the next light pole. Gaining her balance, she leapt and landed lightly on the top of the next one, scratching it close to ribbons with her talons. More gunshots sounded around her, but none landed their mark as she was running so fast. Leaping from the light pole to the ground got her out of sight but the cloak was distinctive. People were jumping out of her way left and right as she tried to zigzag to prevent the people chasing her from getting her. One guy wasn't fast enough and she plowed into him, causing them both to fall. Akurei scrambled to her feet again and took off, gouging the ground beneath her. Someone hit her with their briefcase and she fell again, but couldn't get up in time. A troop of police officers appeared practically out of nowhere and pinned Akurei to the ground. "Stay down!" one of them ordered.

"Are you kidding?! I've done nothing wrong!" she shrieked.

"I said, stay down!" he repeated. Akurei got really mad then. She stayed down and her eyes began glowing violet again. Only, there were no demons nearby. "I. Have done. Nothing. Wrong!" she shouted. Her body morphed and shadows encased her, shaping her, changing her body. When they faded, a black dragon was crouched in their midst, twelve feet long with sixteen foot wingspan, and all muscle that was ready to destroy everything. Her eyes were still violet and she hissed, sending several of the officers running. She leapt and spread her wings, catching the air to rise above the clouds.

After flying for a few hours to make sure everything calmed down, she landed in a quieter area and her body reverted to its original shape quickly. She leaned back against the trunk and huffed a sigh of relief that nobody found her. She stayed there for a while, completely missing seeing the boy with silvery-white hair and dog ears walk from the little shrine into the private home of the grounds. His scent wafted up to her, however, and he seemed to be moving with urgency. Akurei turned around and crept through the branches, trying to see what was going on. The boy seemed to be a demon, but at the same time, he didn't have that menacing aura around him that most of the other demons had. He returned shortly, with a girl that looked vaguely familiar. They were too far away for Akurei to discern any features from them, so she doubted she knew the girl. The pair ran into the shrine, with a family chasing them. Lots of shouting about hair and a tet-something reached her ears. Suddenly the sound stopped and only the scents of the family were left. _The girl and boy must have left,_ she decided. Akurei leapt down and landed in a forest again. Only, these weren't the trees that surrounded the Northern Tribe's territory. She walked forward until she reached a clearing. After looking around and seeing nothing, she leapt into the air and flew towards the north again to find her new clanmates.


	5. V: What Just Happened?

**Chapter V: What Just Happened?  
**

"Oh, Akurei, you're back," Aki said as she walked through the cave entrance, "We were wondering if you got lost or something."

"No, I ended up walking back where I came from. I don't know how, though. One minute I was helping watch the perimeter, and the next, I was listening to a woman scream for someone to catch me." She shrugged and sat next to the first aid to take care of her leg.

"Oh no, you've hurt yourself. What happened?" Aki asked.

"I got shot," she said. Akurei examined it. It didn't look too bad. "It's not that bad. It was just a graze."

"Okami won't like hearing that you got hurt. Here, let me," he crouched next to her and quickly wrapped her wound in linen after applying an herbal poultice. "Speaking of injuries, how are your shoulders?" he asked, tying off the last strip.

"They're all better. There are light scars, but nothing bad."

He nodded and sat back, finished with her leg. Akurei flicked her tail and said, "Thanks. It's probably getting to be a pain to keep bandaging me." She grinned.

"It's not a problem, sis. Don't worry about it."

"Hey Aki I was wondering if you knew what the scent of blood was from, oh hello Akurei! You're back! What happened?" Okami asked as he walked in, surprised to see the girl back.

"I got shot after accidentally returning to where I was born. Aki patched me up," she replied.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Don't worry."

"Good. So where are you from, anyway? You never really said."

"Thing is, I'm not really sure what the deal is. I live in a city called Tokyo, but I came here somehow. Have you ever been there?" she asked.

"No. What's it like?" he asked her.

"It's busy. It's always noisy, and there are lots of cars, buildings, and people everywhere you look. I swear there's never a moment of silence there. It's ridiculous. You could never hear the wind whisper through leaves like here, but you do hear the sound of people. It's kind of reassuring, having so many people around you, but it was lonely," she wrapped her cloak around herself more tightly, "It's better here. That's for sure."

"Glad you like it, Akurei. It's pleasant here, that's for sure. What's a car?" Akurei giggled and said, "A car is a cart, basically, but you don't need horses like the ones here. Their power is on the inside. They're noisy as hell, though."

"Really? What are they made of?"

"Mostly iron and steel if I remember right."

"Really. Do you miss it?"

"Kind of, but I like it here more."

They sat in silence for a few minutes and just watched the life of the tribe going on. Okami stood suddenly, "Do you know how to hunt?"

Akurei looked up at him, "What?"

"Do you know how to hunt?"

She shook her head.

"Well, come on," he grabbed her hand and pulled her upright. "I'll show you." He ran and pulled her with him out of the cave and into the surrounding forest.


	6. VI: Sun and Moon

**Chapter VI: Sun and Moon**

_This chapter takes place after Kagome and Inuyasha meet Sango and Miroku and they are now traveling together._

Akurei and Okami were walking along the forest path, chatting. Okami was explaining the world of demons.

"And that's why you never mess with a spider demon," he finished. Akurei laughed and asked yet another question, "So, what does that make me? Am I actually a demon?"

"Well, since you turned human that one day, my guess is that you're actually hanyou, or a half-demon. Now, only what type of demon is the question."

"Really? You mean I'm not actually a demon?"

"You would be half-demon, half-human if you're hanyou. But I've never seen a human who had the color of hair and eyes you do, well, not full-blooded humans, that is."

"I actually have foreign-born family. That's probably why."

"Really? You mean the land actually began trading with foreigners?"

"Yes. But according to the rest of the world, including this land, demons don't exist. So you can imagine my surprise to learn otherwise," she smiled. She looped her arm through Okami's as they strolled comfortably along. "And what's this about demons that can change their forms?"

"There are some demons that are powerful enough that they can change into humans or animals. Some are dogs, others are cats, I've even heard tales of a giant dragon that takes the form of a beautiful and fiery woman, only to seduce and murder men."

"Really? What about people like me?"

"You mean demons that drink the blood of others? Well, yeah, there are some, but I've never heard any tale or legend that speaks of hanyou that do this."

"Wow. Well, that's certainly something different. So what about—" she stops, smelling something strange. "You smell that?" she asks.

Okami looks around and sniffs as well. "No. What do you smell?"

"I smell… oh crap!" she drags her companion into the bushes as that girl's scent from when Akurei first fell through into the world of demons grows stronger. Okami makes it behind the bush, but Akurei isn't so lucky because she trips and is sprawled on the ground. "Run! I'll distract them!" she hisses.

Okami shakes his head, "Not without you!"

"Do it. I'll find my way back. I always do, remember?" she smiles grimly. He thinks better of arguing because that's when a boy with hair the so silvery it was almost white leaps in front of Akurei. He's facing her, and the first thing she notices is that his kimono is bright red and that there's a giant sword not two inches away from her nose.

"Is this the one, Kagome?" he shouts.

"She's got them, Inuyasha. They're in her chest," a girl pants as she slides her bicycle to a stop several feet away from them. After putting the kickstand up, she pulls out a small jar with what appears to be a quarter-sphere made of pink quartz. She held it in her hand as she watched the pair. A monk in black and purple robes ran up with the demon hunter. The monk had a small child with a ponytail and a pale gold bushy tail like a fox on his shoulder, while the hunter had a two-tailed cat following her.

"What're you talking about?" Akurei cried. She scrambled upright, while the silver-haired boy kept his sword trained on her.

"The Shikon Jewel shards. Hand 'em over. We know you have them," he snarled.

"What're you talking about, idiot?" she snarled right back. "I have no clue what you mean!" As she spoke, the pink gems she'd placed on a necklace under her collarbone glinted, catching his attention. His eyes followed the gems and Akurei's control snapped, "Look you! My eyes are up here, in case you haven't noticed! Now why don't you explain to me what the hell you want with me?"

She got in his face, and since she's shorter than the boy, he was looking down at her, not doing anything to help his case. "And besides, you guys aren't even civil enough to tell me who or what you are!" she yelled, wheeling around. "So why don't we—" she stopped. She finally got a good look at the girl with the bicycle. She was wearing that Akurei owns for school! "You!" she growled. Pointing an accusing finger toward her, she said, "Who are you? You wear that accursed uniform. So we go to the same school."

"I'm Kagome Higurashi. How do you know me?"

"We're in the same class at the school in Tokyo. I'm Akurei Hayashi, not that any of you care."

"Akurei? Is it really you? How did you come to the Feudal Era?"

"That's where we are?"

"Yeah. But I don't remember you ever being a demon, Akurei. I mean, I know the other kids teased you about your name when we were younger, but I don't remember it actually being true. And how did you get those Shikon Jewel shards?" she asked. Her expression was just clueless, not calculating or anything.

"What, you mean these little gems? I killed some demons, and not all of them, but some had little shards of gems. I didn't know what else to do with them, so I just put them on a necklace. Why? Are they important to you?" She turned to the silvery-haired boy.

"Yeah. Now hand 'em over," he held his clawed hand out, expecting her to give them over.

"Um, how about no," she said.

"Kagome, do you know this demon?" a vaguely familiar female voice said. Akurei turned around and saw with shock that it was the same girl from Akurei's little misadventure before meeting Okami and his friends. Her giant boomerang was slung over her shoulder and she looked about ready to throw it. She didn't look openly hostile, but she didn't seem too pleased with not attacking the one that was saved by the wolf demons not so long ago. Akurei tucked her tail around her legs and the tip swished uneasily as she took in the other girls' stances. "Yes, but we're not well acquainted with each other, because everyone else hated me and so I stayed well away from everyone," she growled.

"Ah, who is this lovely young woman?" the monk asked. He walked forward, not noticing the demon's ears since they were pressed back into her ears. He lifted her hand in both of his, the prayer beads clicking softly together as his hands moved. "Would you be willing to bear my child?" he asked.

Akurei's eyes widened and Okami burst out of the bushes, shoving himself between the monk and his friend, "How dare you ask that of her!"

The others rallied around the monk protectively and Okami had his teeth bared as he stood defensively in front of Akurei. Akurei kept her head and gently put her hand on Okami's shoulder as she murmured, "Okami, you were supposed to be long gone. Why did you stay?"

"I didn't trust them," he replied, "Are you alright?" He turned toward her, worry plain on his face. He kept his eyes on their possible enemies as he spoke.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Just get out of here. I'll follow you soon. I promise," she reassured him. He nodded, backing away. "Tell everyone I should be back in several hours, alright?"

"Okay," he said. With that, he gave one last glare towards the silver-haired boy and the monk, then bounded off in the direction of the camp. They all watched him go, and after a few minutes of silence, the monk said, "Who was that? Was he your husband?"

She sighed, "No. He's a friend of mine. He helped me when I first fell into this world. What's it to you?" Her gaze cut through him.

He held his hands up in surrender, "I didn't know demons were so protective of each other."

"He's the one who helped me after she," she pointed an accusing finger at the demon hunter, "slashed open my shoulders."

"What? Sango, did you really hurt her?" Kagome asked, surprised.

"I didn't know she was a friend of yours, Kagome."

"Whatever. It's all in the past, who cares? I just wanna know if I have ta take those shards from around her neck," the boy, Inuyasha, said.

"Why do you want these, anyway, dog boy?" she replied. "I thought they were just quartz or something."

"Those are shards of the Shikon Jewel," Kagome told her. "It's a sacred jewel that amplifies the powers of demons. We're trying to get all the pieces so that way we can purify it. So can we have your pieces?"

"Oh these? I have no use for them, and besides, if I can get away from Mr. Better-Than-Everyone over there," she jerked her thumb toward Inuyasha, "then by all means: take them. Here." She pulled the string over her head and handed it to Kagome.

"Thanks," the other girl replied. "Hey, Akurei, since you're from home, would you like to travel with us? It'd be fun if you could join us," she pleaded.

"I don't know. It seems like too much trouble. One of you tried to kill me, the other wanted to use his giant sword on me, and you never associated yourself with me before."

"Oh come on, Inuyasha's not that bad, really," she wheedled. The pleading look on her face convinced Akurei.

"Okay," she sighed. "But don't kill me. And before we traipse off into the vast unknown, I have to go after Okami. He and the others need to know that I'm going off and haven't been killed or anything." She turned away quickly and ran a few steps, "I should be back in three days' time!" she shouted. She leapt up and spread her wings, flapping strongly into a helpful current, speeding her away toward the Northern Tribe.


	7. VII: Descisions Descisions

_OOC: Yes, another short chapter. xD Sorry, but this is just a transitional between Chapters VI and VIII. I shouldn't be doing this after she actually starts traveling with Inuyasha and Kagome and all them, but no promises. Usually these short ones are just transitions, so I doubt you'd miss much if you skip or skim them. But just warning you, after this chapter, everything else will most likely be fresh from my brain, so there may be inconsistencies since I'm doing stuff for school and I won't have time to comb through my story thoroughly like I have before. So, bear with me if after Chapter IX I don't update for a while. I'll keep doing it as much as I can, but no promises. _

**Chapter VII: Decisions Decisions**

After only a few minutes of flying strongly with the wind, she spotted Okami down below. "Okami! Hold on!" she shouted. She dove and landed about ten feet away from him, taking care not to hit him as she had several times before. "Turns out those gems I found were actually fragments of some sacred stone, and they wanted them back so they could get purified or something."

"So why did they let you go? That one in the red kimono definitely didn't look like he would willingly let you leave without some pieces missing."

"That girl with the bike, Kagome, goes to my school, so she offered to let me travel with them."

"Really? I thought you said everyone hated you there," he replied, baffled.

"They do, but she never did anything, so I guess she didn't. At least, she didn't try anything that the others would have if they saw me."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Hey, Okami?"

"Hm?"

"Kagome wants me to travel with her, and I have no clue what's going on with me suddenly ending up in my world and then back here, or anything. She might have the answers I seek. Would you be opposed to me traveling with them?"

"What?!" he stopped suddenly, "Akurei, are you insane? That demon hunter who was with them almost killed you! She would have if not for me and Aki, and Daiki! And that guy in the red kimono would've killed you if he had a chance!"

"Relax, Okami. If he tries anything, I can always smack sense into him if I have to," she reassured.

"Well, I suppose there's no arguing with you," he sighed. "But you'll have to talk to Daiki before you go traipsing on your own."

"Okay." She turned and started striding toward the mountain, "Well? You coming?"

He laughed and ran after her as they made their way north.


	8. VIII: Traveling with Dynamite

**Chapter VIII: Traveling with Dynamite**

"So that's it, then. You're absolutely certain of going with them?" Daiki asked.

"Yes, Daiki. I think they may have the answers I seek about why I seem to go from here to my land unexpectedly. Also, they said that it'd be helpful if I were to join them," Akurei replied. _Well, not really helping seek the Jewel so much as that girl have someone from her time,_ she thought. Akurei had been speaking with the leader of the Northern Tribe for the better part of an hour now, as she tried to get him to say yes to letting her leave and go with Kagome. But Okami was being obstinate in keeping her away from Inuyasha. Her thoughts returned to the events unfolding before her as Daiki turned to Okami. "And you still insist that she remain here? Against her will, at that?" he inquired.

"I believe we should protect her. That boy, Inu-whatever-his-name-is, threatened her with his sword, and he could have made short work of both of us. But he's only hanyou, so it makes no sense. I say we should steer clear of them," he replied.

"Well, it is quite the fix," Daiki said, "I say we need to know what's going on with the Shikon Jewel. I've heard of it, but Akurei, I'm surprised you never mentioned that you've carried shards of it for quite some time."

She bowed her head, "I'm sorry, Daiki. I didn't know they were special. They just seemed like quartz or something."

"It's alright. But if you can find anything out about what happened to the Jewel of Four Souls, then send a wolf. Aside from that, feel free to join them. I see no problem with it, and it'll be good for you."

Her expression brightened considerably, "Really? You mean I can join them and find out about my past?"

"Yes. And Okami, I need you here. It's best that you don't go with her. They'll be more inclined to trust her if there isn't a member of our tribe with her."

"Thank you, Daiki. I'll let you know if there's any news. I promise." She bowed and got up. After slinging her satchel over her shoulder, she waved goodbye and leapt out of the cave, spreading her onyx wings.

**OOC: POV: Third Person**

"Isn't she going to arrive soon?" Inuyasha griped. His leg was bouncing, much to everyone else's displeasure.

"She said she'd have to talk to Okami and the others. I wonder who they are," Kagome responded. "And could you stop bouncing your leg?"

"Hm? Keh." He spun away and faced toward where Akurei flew off to. "And besides, I don't get why we have to wait for her. Couldn't she just follow us or somethin'? I mean, she's a demon after all." He snorted derisively and scowled.

"Yes, Kagome, why do we have to wait for her?" Sango replied. "I know she's your friend, but I don't trust demons I don't know. And I'm not even sure about him," she pointed to Inuyasha.

"Eh—Hey!" he shouted. The others ignored him and Miroku responded, "If Kagome trusts this demon, then I believe it may be in our best interests to hear what she has to say. After all, we could always use another demon to help us get the shards of the Shikon Jewel."

"That's true, but how do we know we can trust her?" the demon hunter rebutted.

"I doubt she'd do anything, you guys," Kagome pleaded. "She isn't bad. I don't ever remember seeing dog ears or those scaly claws when we went to school together. Let's give her a chance. I doubt she even knows anything about the Jewel."

"Yeah? And now that she knows what those shards were, who's ta say she ain't gonna get her pals to attack us? An' we're just sittin' here!" Inuyasha scowled again as he caught her distinct scent. He closed his eyes and lifted his face to the wind. "She's here," he called.

**BAC: POV: Third Person Akurei**

Akurei heard them talking faintly and swung toward them, the wind ruffling her feathers. She glided gently down several meters away from the group. A particularly strong gust of wind caught her and she dug her claws in, not wanting to get blown over. After folding her wings, she adjusted her cloak and walked over to the group, "Hello again," she murmured. "We weren't properly introduced," she said, shooting a glance at a certain half-demon. "I'm Akurei."

"Well, you already know me, but I'm Kagome, this is Inuyasha," she gestured to the silver-haired boy, "This is Sango, the demon slayer, Miroku is the monk, that's Kirara," she pointed to the small cat on Sango's shoulder, "and this is Shippo." She motioned to the small demon child in her bicycle basket.

"Hi, Akurei," the little demon said. She smiled and said, "Hey, Shippo."

"C'mon, you guys! Are we gonna get goin' or what?" Inuyasha interrupted.

Akurei glared at him and leaned away, even though he was five feet away. "Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded. "We still need to ask her if she wants to come with us."

"Well, can ya hurry it up?" he asked. Akurei snorted and said, "Well, if I didn't want to come, would I be here now?"

"Well, now that that's settled," the priestess started, "Why don't you tell me how you got here, Akurei? The only way I know to get here is through the Bone-Eater's Well."

"What's that?" she replied.

"Well, it's kind of a long story," the other girl responded.

"I have time."


	9. IX: The Torn Wind Tunnel

**Chapter IX: Master Mushin and the Torn Wind Tunnel**

The group sat in silence after they had exchanged information for the past few hours. The only thing that the others didn't know was that Akurei was an honorary member of the Wolf Demon Tribe of the North. _I don't trust them enough to risk Okami and the others' safety,_ she thought. "So should we get going somewhere?" she asked. She paid attention to Kagome because the others made her nervous, but Shippo was alright, after all, he's just a cute little kid.

"Yes, I believe that would be advisable," Miroku agreed.

"So you all still want to go after this Naraku person, right?" Akurei asked.

They nodded and the half-demon said, "Alright, then let's get going."

They started walking and after a few minutes, Kagome asked, "So, Akurei, what can you change into?"

"Kagome, are you really sure you should be asking her questions like that?" Sango asked. She was the most opposed to Akurei joining them, but refused to say why. Akurei had a sneaking suspicion that it was because the hunter wouldn't be able to finish her off if they were traveling companions, but she couldn't be certain.

Kagome responded, "I'm just curious, why? Should I not have asked?" She seemed distressed that she might have made a social gaff, so Akurei allayed her fears. "No, it's alright. I don't mind. As far as I know, I just turned into the dragon, but who knows?"

"Kagome, why do ya bother? She's just a half-pint half-breed," Inuyasha griped, again.

"Well, at least I'm more polite, pup," she retorted.

"What's that, Scaly?"

"You heard me."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome interrupted, "Sit!"

The boy _whumped _into the ground, almost taking Akurei down with him had she not danced aside at just the right moment. "Kagome!" he shouted.

Akurei dropped her face in her hand and sighed. "Inuyasha…" she trailed off.

"What?" he replied, dusting himself off.

"Just stop. Your surly attitude isn't helping anyone, and quite frankly, I predict that if this keeps going we'll all have headaches."

"Heh. Why does it bother you so much?" he smirked.

"I hate cocky boys like you, Inuyasha," she said coldly. The sudden change in attitude startled the boy. "Your type always find ways to make peoples' lives awful, and judging from the way Kagome didn't hesitate to subjugate you, you've irritated her consistently in the past, essentially training her to subdue you with the sit command whenever you're going overboard. So why don't you explain to me why you seem to have earned Kagome's displeasure, and why you seem so eager to get on my bad side as well?"

The boy blustered for the better part of a minute as Shippo said, "Dang. I definitely don't want to mess with her. She's as scary as Kagome."

"Mm-hmm," Miroku agreed. Sango didn't say anything as she stared amazed at the fact that Inuyasha seemed to have been stunned silent.

Without waiting for him to recover her senses, Akurei started walking forward again. Inuyasha snapped to it when he saw the confident stride and said, "Hey! I did nothing, idiot!"

She ignored him as the others followed her. After a few minutes, she said, "So, why are we going this way again?"

Inuyasha uttered a derisive snort. "Well, from what I understood, there's a shard of the Jewel this way," Kagome indulged her.

"Ah, okay. So, you can sense these gems, right?"

"Yep. Although I don't right now."

"Hm," she said, thoughtfully. She raised her face and sniffed delicately, sifting through the different scents in the air. She caught a faint whiff of dog and demon, but nothing too unusual.

A few hours later, they came across a village. "You're a demon slayer, aren't you?" one of the elder men said to Sango.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"We need you to exterminate some rat demons for us. Would you, please?"

She agreed, much to Inuyasha's displeasure, but they quickly set up a trap that would flush out the demons with a horrible scent. Akurei and Inuyasha were sitting on the ground with pounding headaches as the scent wafted over them. "Ugh," Akurei moaned. Why did we do this again?" she said. She'd already covered her face, but that didn't help much with the smell.

"Are they some of the demons being exterminated as well?" one of the villagers asked as he took stock of Inuyasha and Akurei's positions on the ground next to Sango, Miroku, and Shippo.

"They just have really sensitive noses," Shippo said. "Hey, where ya goin' Miroku?" he asked as the monk began following a woman.

Just then, Sango called out, "Get ready, you guys!" Shippo jumped and the two half-demons sat there and moaned again. Right as the rat demon pounced, Sango slayer swung her Hiraikotsu at it and crushed the beast. The villagers were pleased and Sango called to Kagome on the other side of the house to begin cleanup.

Two hours later, Kagome was tending to Inuyasha and Akurei since they hadn't recovered from breathing the foul-smelling smoke. "Does your head still hurt?" she asked the boy.

He ignored her and groaned a bit. "Hey, where's Miroku?" Akurei asked. She didn't dare open her eyes for she knew it would only worsen her headache.

Shippo responded, "He went after some woman. She was really beautiful. He probably gave her the line about having her have his first-born child."

"What?" Sango and Akurei said. They both looked at the small child in surprise.

"Really?"

"Have his child?" The two girls got looks of mild disgust on their faces at the thought of him asking such a thing.

Evening fell when Miroku returned and they all sat to sup. The three girls all sat on the opposite side of Miroku, shooting him cold glances.

"Is it my imagination, or are they giving me really cold looks?" he asked Inuyasha.

"I don't know. I think it might be from all the womanizing," he replied. "What do you expect, Miroku? You act like a lecher, an' they'll treat ya like one."

"I've been misunderstood. You might not believe what I'm going to tell you—"

"You're right on that," Kagome said. The other two nodded in agreement.

"No, really," he replied.

"Huh."

The next morning, the others were at the inn when Shippo suddenly asked, "Hey, where's Miroku?"

Sango and Kagome looked up. "I don't know. Maybe he's off doing something," Akurei commented.

"Yeah, right. That lecher never leaves a girl alone," Inuyasha scoffed.

"Mm-hmm," the others agreed.

"Well, do ya think we should go look for him?" Shippo asked. Kagome scooped him up and said, "Let's not worry about it. He'll come back."

"If you say so."

Akurei and Inuyasha are running swiftly through the forest as they follow Hachi, Miroku's little raccoon dog friend. "It's taking too long to run. We'll have to fly," Akurei panted. Inuyasha nodded and Hachi placed a leaf on his head, transforming into his giant squash form that flies. As he ascends, Akurei helps Sango leap onto his back, Kirara close behind. Inuyasha just jumps on with Kagome and Shippo clinging to him. Once all of them are ready and on Hachi's back, she leaps up and lands neatly on his back with the others.

"Are you sure that's really what happened?" Inuyasha shouted at Hachi. The wind was making it very difficult for them to hear each other, but Hachi's animal hearing was able to pick up his question without a lot of trouble. "Yes, I'm certain. He said that a giant praying mantis demon scratched the sides of his Wind Tunnel."

"Well then, I guess he really wasn't just being a lech after all," Sango muttered. Kagome giggled.

Her laughter was cut short when a large clearing suddenly burst out from under the trees. There was a deep crater with a memorial in the center of it, and a certain monk was getting charged by several hundred serpentine demon worms. Hachi transformed back and the two half-demons leapt down. Inuyasha drew his Tetsusaiga while Akurei shifted into her battle form as a dragon and swept many away from Miroku when they got under the Tetsusaiga's swing. The others that she wasn't able to bat away with her paws she speared with shadows instinctively. It was a trick the wolf demons taught her, once they realized she could control shadows, since some of them had greater control over their wolf selves than others. When they were all dispersed, Inuyasha landed lightly in front of her, his sword resting on his shoulder. "You okay, Miroku?" he called.

"Eh, yes," Miroku responded. He sounded fairly weak since he was still recovering from the sleep potion his master gave him, but at least he was conscious. Akurei turned to him and coaxed him onto her back, shrugging her shoulders to make sure he was safely perched. He gripped her mane and held tightly as she moved protectively behind Inuyasha.

_So what should we do?_ Akurei asked the half-demon.

"I'll tell ya what we do," he started. Kagome and Sango ran up, weapons at the ready. "We kill that damned priest and get outta here."

"No, don't. He's the—" Miroku started.

"I'm the only one who can fix his right hand," a voice interrupted. They turned and a monk with a drunkard's flush and a mustache stood tauntingly in front of the shrine. Akurei hissed and lashed her tail, half-spreading her wings as Kagome nocked an arrow and Sango held her Hiraikotsu at the ready.

Inuyasha scoffed and said, "Like that's gonna stop me!"

He charges with his sword over his head, and right has he brings it into the downswing, a string of bowling-ball-sized beads wraps themselves tightly around the Tetsusaiga and him. "Ah! Dammit!" He struggles against the bonds and Mushin laughs.

"Those are my special demon-binding beads. No demon can withstand them," he chortled. Akurei watched the drunkard as a strange mist flowed out of his mouth, writhing about before retreating.

_Miroku? Did you see that mist?_ She asked the monk.

"Yes. What are you and why have you possessed Mushin?" he shouted at the monk.

"I am the demon worm charmer," he said, "And I shall use this monk to destroy you all. Naraku promised me a shard of the Shikon Jewel if I could do that. I plan on getting this shard, oh yes." As he spoke, mist trickled free of his jaws and wrapped itself around him. "But I've never seen any demon who could withstand these prayer beads and live."

"Heh, well then, I guess you haven't dealt with truly strong demons," Inuyasha jibed. As he spoke, his Tetsusaiga regained its power and he began to move and free himself. _Hold on,_ Akurei murmured to Miroku. Without waiting to see if he'd comply, she lunged forward and swiped at the beads, weakening the bonds. She took another swipe and yelped when the beads burned her claws. After one last swipe and almost shredding Inuyasha's kimono, she decided to let him fight it out because the demon worms were starting to swarm again. Luckily he managed to free himself thanks to the weakened bonds.

He finished the strike he started and the Tetsusaiga struck the ground. The half-demons leapt up into the air and began attacking the demons. Miroku was still too weak to do much other than hang on as Akurei pulled a barrel roll over a clump of demons, causing them to get confused and fall to Inuyasha's sword. _How do we free Mushin of the demon worms?_ Akurei asked him. Sango heard and shouted, "There might be a jar! Find it and put it near him, and we might be able to draw the demon worms out!"

"On it!" Inuyasha shouted. Akurei swooped in low and deposited Miroku next to Shippo as Kagome and Inuyasha leapt onto her back. Akurei rose into the air and swiped at a few of the demons, trying to clear a path. Suddenly Kagome shouted, "Over there! On the roof!"

She swung down within human-arms-length of the jar and Inuyasha grabbed it. He gave it to Kagome and Akurei landed right behind Mushin, startling him. It was enough for Kagome to put the jar in front of his face and make the worms leave him.

Within minutes the worms in the air dispersed and the mist flowed back into the jar, releasing Mushin of their control. A small demon ran up, but Sango quickly dispatched it when it tried to steal the jar away again.

Akurei shifted back and said, "Come on, these two have to get inside." She pulled Miroku to a standing position and moved his arm over her shoulder while Kagome and Sango helped Mushin get up.

Mushin, Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Shippo, and Akurei were all sitting with Miroku after Mushin declared the process over. The monk stood and motioned for Inuyasha to follow him. When the pair left, Kagome asked, "Do you think he'll wake up soon?"

"Mushin said he might sleep for a little while before the medicine wears off since he had to get stitched up," Akurei mentioned. "It's like coming out of anesthesia," she added, "so he should be alright."

Immediately after she said that, he twitched slightly and opened his eyes. He blinked a few times and raised his right hand over his face. Suddenly he got this strange expression on his face, as if in wonderment, alarming the girls.

"Are you okay?"

"What's wrong?"

He said nothing, but Sango suddenly froze up. The others looked at her and she reached over and…

_SMACK!_

Miroku had a bright red handprint on his cheek and Sango looked very angry.

"Miroku!" Akurei groaned.

"Well, he seems lively enough to me," Inuyasha said from the doorway.


	10. X: Darkest Dream, Darkest Hour

**OOC: Sorry for taking so long! ^^; Hope you like this chapter, 'cuz I'm still working on Chapter XI (Koga's coming back soon, don't worry. :D), but here's another episode-based chapter (as I've said before, those are split into fairly easy-to-follow segments where you can tell where one adventure ends and the next begins. Let me know if there are any inconsistencies that are problematic, but for now: enjoy!  
**

**Chapter X: Darkest Dream, Darkest Hour**

Kagome and Inuyasha were walking for once, letting Akurei have the day off to rest her wings. Miroku and Sango were walking with them as they all tried to figure out how to rescue Kikyo before Naraku could hurt her. "So Naraku's on all of your hit lists?" she asked the group.

"Yes. Inuyasha was betrayed and had Kikyo turned against him, Miroku's grandfather was cursed with a hole in his right hand, and Sango's brother was killed and put under Naraku's control," Kagome responded.

"Goody," she muttered. She adjusted her quiver. "Hey, Inuyasha, where do you think he took her?"

"I don't know. So far the trail's leading nowhere." He snorted and kept walking.

Akurei stopped short. "Do you smell that?" she said.

"Smell what?" He sniffed the air.

"That stench of demonic aura. It's almost like…" she trailed off and slumped to the ground.

Kagome screamed and took off as everybody faded away. Sango and Miroku were yanked from Kirara and were tossed to the bases of some trees and were knocked unconscious. Inuyasha was pulled away from them and he screamed Kagome's name before falling into an enchanted slumber. Poor Shippo was stranded with Kirara as they too fell into a deep, deep sleep.

_Akurei was running through golden flames that burned and shone like the sun. Everywhere she looked, golden light cascaded in burning tongues. The light burned her and her shadow twisted and shrunk as her power was stripped from her. It reduced her to nothing more than a weak girl._

_"Ha ha! Look at the freak!" voices chanted._

_"Akurei, Akurei, look out, demon, get out of my way!" came the chorus of children's voices. Half-formed faces flickered in the flames. They were the faces of everyone who told her that she couldn't do things._

_"You can't beat me in a footrace!" one child shouted._

_"Yeah! Humans win against demons every time!" another sneered._

_"You can't be successful in this career path, Akurei. You don't have the skillset to become an experimental scientist. You don't pay attention in the classroom, so how can you pay attention to equations that determine the orbit of small particles of matter as they move through space against dark matter? Or how will you be able to help make discoveries in science when you don't have the focus it takes to sit still and pay attention for ninety minutes?" her teacher asked, his face fading in and out as the flames thinned and thickened in intensity._

_"I just want to live my life!" she cried out, "I just want to be free to choose my fate! That's all! I never wanted anything more than that!"_

_More voices laughed and sneered and called out jeers to her. She ran forward in fear as the shadows were stripped away from her, revealing her twisted form as her scales and feathers started to smoke._

_"STOP IT!" she cried out. The voices continued to rise in intensity as they blended together into a chorus of noise and pain. Right when the noise reached its maximum volume, Kagome's voice broke through suddenly. "Hey Akurei, do you want to travel with us?"_

_As she spoke, her face broke through in golden light. The relentless shouting and catcalls stopped as the two girls stared at each other._

_"You—you really want me to come with you?" she stuttered. Her fear stopped as the fire-Kagome nodded._

_"Yeah. It'll be more fun with you along," she replied._

_"Thanks."_

_"Wake up!" somebody shouted. One by one the faces vanished as the voice grew louder. It was just one voice. One loud, kind of obnoxious and sarcastic voice that seemed _very_ familiar._

_"Dammit, Akurei! You've gotta wake up!" it shouted again._

_"Who are you?" she called out. The voice didn't respond. It only kept shouting her name, growing louder and louder until it grated in her ears._

"What, dammit!" she screamed aloud. She resurfaced to consciousness like she was surfacing after swimming under water for a long time. She wrenched her head up off of the ground and arched her back as she writhed from the strange grip of hands as they held her. Strong clawed hands pushed her back down and Inuyasha's and Miroku's faces crowded her sight as they forced her back down so she could calm down.

"Stay down, dammit!" Inuyasha growled.

"Please, Akurei, at least until you're eyes stop glowing. What happened?" Miroku asked.

"I don't know. One minute I was walking next to Kagome and the next thing I knew, I was in my own personal hell," she looked at them both. "Now will you let me up?" she asked.

They relented and pulled their hands off her and helped her stand. When she was steady, she noticed what had seemed strange about this whole misadventure: Kagome wasn't with them. Neither was Sango or Shippo. "Inuyasha," she started, "where's Kagome?"

"Dammit," he said, "I thought she was with you!"

"No, idiot. I may be a girl, but she prefers your company in case you haven't noticed," she retorted.

"Whatever, let's just go get her," he said. He pulled Tetsusaiga from its sheath and started running. Miroku and Akurei weren't far behind as they sprinted off in search of their friends.

They were running when Akurei caught Sango's scent. "Keep going! I'll catch up with you!" she shouted. Without waiting for a reply, she peeled off and sprinted off toward the source of the scent. Moments later, she came across the limp form of the demon hunter, tangled in vicious-looking vines. Without hesitation, the half-demon struck at the vines around her and pulled her free.

Akurei slapped Sango's face lightly, then with more force as she didn't wake up. "Wake up, Sango!" she muttered. "Come on, seriously!"

"How did I wake up?" the dragon demon wondered, "Oh yeah, Inuyasha shouted at me."

She leaned down and said loudly, "Sango! Wake up!"

She leaned back as the demon hunter sat up suddenly, eyes wide. "What happened?" she asked.

"You were passed out on the ground," the other girl replied. "Come on, let's catch up to Inuyasha and Miroku."

Sango nodded, "Kirara! Come!"

The cat leapt and transformed midair to land next to her owner. Sango got on her back and they took off into the air, Akurei close behind.

Akurei landed and Sango shouted, "Inuyasha!"

He turned and Kagome was safely tucked under his arm. She looked ready to cry and so Akurei decided to stop the inevitable tear-fest that was bound to happen by walking over and saying, "Come on." Shippo happened to be clinging to Miroku rather than his favorite priestess. Odd.

Kagome didn't argue as Akurei pulled her into a hug and sat her down on a rock. Without asking anything, the half-demon sat there and just rubbed her back until she calmed down. "You saw Kikyo?" she asked.

The other girl nodded and the scared look didn't leave her face. "Did she hurt you?" Akurei asked.

"No, but she took my portion of the Jewel," she replied. Talking about the Jewel seemed like a better course of action since she calmed down some. Inuyasha didn't say anything, shockingly. _She probably already told him,_ the half-demon thought. "Come on, let's get out of here," she told the girl, "I hate vines. Clingy little suckers."

Without waiting, she shifted into a large dragon, allowing everyone to climb onboard. Kagome sat in front of Inuyasha and Shippo ended up in front of her, with Miroku, Kirara, and Sango behind them. _Ready?_ she asked as she looked back. They nodded, so she turned forward and leapt into the air.


	11. XI: Enter Koga the Demon Wolf

**Chapter XI: Enter Koga the Demon Wolf**

Akurei, Kagome and the others were walking when suddenly, Akurei and Inuyasha smelled blood. "You smell that?" Akurei asked.

"Yep. Human blood and lots of it."

"Wanna check it out?" Akurei asked everyone. They nodded and Kirara transformed so that way Sango and Miroku could ride and Akurei shifted into her dragon form. Kagome and Inuyasha leapt onto her back and Akurei and Kirara leapt up into the air and began flying.

Not too long after that, they stumbled across the remains of a village. Kirara shrank down and Akurei shifted to look mostly human and pulled her cloak around her to hide her legs, tail, and wings. The group saw that there were tracks and bodies everywhere. The tracks were in the shape of paws. "It looks like they all got mauled by wolves," said Miroku, glancing around at the tracks.

"The stench of wolf is everywhere," Inuyasha noted. Sango moved to check a couple of less-damaged bodies. "They're all dead," she said.

"Not for very long, though. There would be a stronger smell overriding the blood if they were dead longer."

Shippo yipped and scrambled up Kagome's shoulder, "We're surrounded!"

"Oh lovely," Akurei muttered. The wolves growled and launched themselves at the group, snapping and howling. "Iron-Reaver Soul Stealer!" Inuyasha shouted, cutting down several of them. Kirara leapt forward and shifted into her battle form, scaring off many of the canines. The others were hacking away at them and beating them back. The ones Kirara scared away ran up to a small hill and began howling.

"Aw, crap. They're calling their leader," Inuyasha said.

"Well, there's not much we can do about that," Akurei replied. A few minutes later, a whirlwind came in and a demon leapt out of it. He had long black hair and was wearing wolf pelts. The wolves circled him and whimpered. He looked at them and snarled, "Who's been hurting my wolves?" He stared accusingly at the group.

"Who're you?" Inuyasha growled.

"I'm Koga, the new leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe," the demon said.

Akurei stiffened as her friend stated his name. She was so shocked, she didn't react to anything for the next few minutes.

Kagome gasped, "Inuyasha, he has jewel shards in his right arm and both his legs."

Inuyasha nodded and drew his Tetsusaiga. The two of them exchanged a few insults and then began fighting. Akurei stayed stiff as a board. When the two of them disengaged again, Inuyasha and Koga began verbally sparring once again. Finally, Inuyasha said, "If only you could fight as fast as you could talk. Then we'd get somewhere!"

This drew the other demon over the edge, "Shut up!" he yelled, "Albino runt!"

"You ought to be put down for rabies!"

"Well," Miroku observed, "they're well-matched when it comes down to foul behavior."

"Yep. They're less mature than the lech among us at the moment," Akurei said automatically, eyeing the monk out of the corner of her eye. Kagome laughed and Sango broke into giggles while Miroku looked away. Sango yipped and looked extremely surprised. She glowered as a loud smacking sound resounded. The next thing Kagome and Akurei know, Miroku has a red hand-shaped mark and Sango looks ready to beat him.

Miroku looked embarrassed and Sango had the coldest expression on her face. They looked toward the fight again and Inuyasha began to invoke the Windscar. Suddenly, Koga leapt back and shouted to his wolves to retreat.

As they ran into the woods, Inuyasha got mad, of course. He started to rant and Akurei tuned him out, turning to Kagome. "So what's with him?"

"Inuyasha?"

"No. Koga."

"Do you think he sensed the Windscar and that he was in danger?" Sango asked.

"It's possible, but I'm practically half animal and I can't even tell when he's going to invoke the Windscar," Akurei responded. _Crap crap crap! What's Koga doing here? Are we close to his den?_

"Hm," Kagome murmured thoughtfully. "Inuyasha just calm down," she said. The demon in question was still muttering and half-yelling at anything that moved all because he didn't have a chance to finish off Koga.

"Inuyasha," Akurei started. Her voice was really quiet and choked, so she tried again, "Inuyasha. Don't hurt him."

"Why shouldn't I?" he snapped. Akurei flinched and looked down, not answering him.

He sniffed and said, "Well, I'm not waitin' for ya so come on! We've gotta go get 'im!"

About fifteen minutes later, Inuyasha was lying on the ground sniffing around. Akurei was standing there anxiously gnawing on her talon trying to figure out why Koga was being hostile and not paying attention to Shippo and Inuyasha's bickering. Moments later, a bunch of wolves descended from the mountainside, sending Inuyasha over the cliff and scaring the life out of Kagome. She gasped and ran to the edge screaming his name. Akurei started to run toward her to go after him when she was taken down by three brown wolves. She turned over, preparing to swipe at them with her claws, but stopped short when she saw that they weren't moving to bite her throat or nipping at her. She growled at them and they growled right back. "Lemme up," she snarled at them. The wolves didn't budge, so she used her hand to bat their faces away and allow herself up. By the time she got up, Koga was already sprinting, Kagome thrown over his shoulder like so much luggage. "Koga!" she shouted.

He didn't hear her so she leapt after him and started running. It quickly became apparent that she wouldn't be able to catch up to him so instead of wasting her energy, she extended her body into that of a Japanese Lung and twisting through the air to splash into the river a hundred feet below.

The water hit her with a cold slap and she slid gracefully through to where Inuyasha was struggling against the current. She pushed him onto shore and followed.

"What're you doing here?" he shouted at her.

_I couldn't catch him, so I figured I should help you_, she said indignantly. Right when he was about to lay into her with his every-famous temper, Sango and Miroku landed next to them. "Inuyasha, are you alright?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah. Where's Kagome?" he asked.

"You mean she's not with you?" Sango asked.

"I saw her get carried off with Koga. I tried to catch them, but I couldn't catch up," Akurei said once she shifted back.

"Dammit! Are you good for anything?" the half-demon griped.

"Shut up. It's not like you were bounding off to save her after she got carried off," the other retorted.

"Aw, shut up! I'm goin' after them. You comin'?" he growled.

Akurei shifted into a dragon as her response, and Inuyasha vaulted onto her back. _Let's go get her!_ She called as she took off.


	12. XII: Reunion of the Wolf Demon Tribe

**Chapter XII: Reunion of the Wolf Demon Tribe**

Akurei landed and started sniffing around. After Inuyasha wasn't getting the hint, she shook her shoulders to inspire him to dismount. He got off with a grumble but shut up when she gave him a look. _Just start sniffing to try and pick up their scent,_ she told him. The dragon resumed snuffling on the ground to try and catch a scent and wandered off. She kept sniffing and stumbled across a small wailing mushroom. _Is that Shippo's?_

She looked up and saw three more pop up. They were making a definite path somewhere, so she followed it. She kept walking until she managed to catch Koga's scent, and she started jogging to wherever it would lead.

After going for a few miles with her nose stuck to the ground, she happened across Ginta and Hakkaku on guard duty. She shifted back and said, "Hey boys! Remember me?"

"Hello, I'm Ginta," Ginta called.

"And I'm Hakkaku," he called.

"I remember, don't worry. I'm Akurei. I live with Okami up north, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, you're the one Koga offered to let you come back with us," Ginta said, remembering now.

"Yeah. I kind of came to visit since I was in the neighborhood," she said, "so, can I talk to him?"

"Sure thing, Akurei. He found some priestess that can sense the Jewel Shards, so he might be busy, but for Okami's woman, no problem. You're practically family, cuz," Hakkaku replied.

"Thanks, guys," she said. She looped her arms through theirs and they walked along the cliffs to the den.

When they arrived, Ginta asked a couple of other wolf demons to take over their shifts for them. They complied and Akurei walked around to try to find Koga. Instead she found Kagome sitting on a bunch of pelts near the back. Shippo was right next to her and they looked fairly nervous. "Akurei?" the priestess questioned.

"Hey, where's Koga?" she replied.

"I don't know. He left a few minutes ago. I just really hope we can leave soon. Were you captured, too?"

"No. Ginta and Hakkaku let me in. Listen, I really need to talk to Koga, so I'm gonna ask around and see if I can find him. You two should leave. Trust me. Whatever they have in store for you might not be good."

"Koga said he wanted to use me to find a Sacred Jewel Shard that their enemies have. The Birds of Paradise keep attacking them and pushing them out of their territory."

Akurei stilled suddenly. "Did you say 'Birds of Paradise'?"

She nodded and said, "Yeah, those giant birds keep killing off Koga's pack members, and one of them apparently has a Jewel Shard. So Koga wants that."

"Crap. Those things are here? This is a lot worse than I thought. I really need to find him. You and Shippo get out of here, got that? Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku are looking for you guys." She turned and started talking to a few of her adopted cousins from the East. She kept them distracted while Shippo transformed to look like Koga and started taking Kagome to the mouth of the cave.

"Hey, Koga! Where ya taking the prisoner?" one of the demons shouted.

"The prisoner needs some fresh air. The stench in here is awful," Shippo said. He turned around again and Akurei stifled the urge to smack her face. His tail was the original yellow, fluffy fox tail rather than the brown wolf tail that Koga has. One of the wolves nibbles on it out of confusion, reversing the transformation. If a puff of magic, little Shippo reappears and lands on Kagome's shoulder. She takes him and runs to the edge of the cliff, throwing him off of it. "Get out of here, Shippo! Get Inuyasha!"

He turns into his fluffy flying form and floats away, "I'll get him for you, Kagome. I promise!"

The wolf demons swarm onto the cliff, surrounding Kagome. Akurei forces her way through, hissing and snarling at her adopted family, but never striking them. They let her through and every one of them was around the two girls, growling and snarling at them. "That's it, I'm eating you for lunch!" one of them shouted at her.

Akurei hissed and lashed out with her talons to make him back up. Just then, Koga came running back. "Hey, quit that! Nobody's touching my woman!" He turned to Kagome and said very smoothly, "You know, wolves mate for life."

"We thought you were gonna eat her when you were done with her, not marry 'er!" one of the demons replied.

"'Your' woman?" Kagome asked. She stepped around Akurei and smacked him across the face. Akurei winced in sympathy as his head rocked to the side, "Ooh, that looked like it hurt," she observed.

"Guess the honeymoon's over," someone said.

"I don't _belong_ to anyone! And besides, I'm kinda into somebody else," she said as she turned away and crossed her arms.

"Wha—don't tell me you like that idiot Inu-trash-a," Koga spluttered.

"Shut up! His name is Inu_yasha_. Say it right, if you're going to say it at all," she sniffed. Akurei could tell he wasn't happy, but he put up with it anyway.

"Koga, remember me?" Akurei asked, defusing the argument. She walked over gracefully and slipped between them to give him a hug. He returned it and asked, "How are you, Akurei? Is Okami treating you well?"

"Quite," she wrapped her arm in his and asked, "Koga, please, would you let Kagome go? I know you need her but seriously, you intend to marry her? She's desirable, that's for sure, but still. You'd be fighting people off for weeks, especially considering Inuyasha's on his way now to come protect her." She curled her tail near the ground around his feet. Kagome meanwhile had taken a step back to put some distance between herself and her kidnapper.

"I can take Inuyasha," Koga scoffed. "And besides, next time I see him, I'll rip the mutt to shreds. He won't be much competition, then."

"Don't kill him. Now, how about we go and get that Shard?" Akurei asked.


	13. XIII: Birds of Para-para-paradise

**Chapter XIII: Birds of Para-para-paradise**

Akurei and Koga slid to a halt as they approached the base of the mountain. Kagome was perched on Koga's back when she suddenly looked up. "I sense a Jewel Shard nearby," she said.

"Where is it?" asked the wolf demon.

"Up there, close to the peak," she pointed.

"Alright men! Get ready 'cuz the battle's about to begin!" Koga shouted as he leapt up and began running straight up the mountainside.

"Koga! Wait up!" Akurei shouted. She crouched, tail curling behind her, then leapt up and opened her wings with a sharp snap to go after them. As she flew up, a giant Bird of Paradise burst forth from the mountain with twins sitting atop its bird half. It hissed in such a shrill manner that Akurei swerved and almost crashed into the mountain. She alighted on an outcropping and waited for an opportunity to attack.

A moment later, Koga slid down and said, "Akurei, take Kagome someplace safe and protect her." He deftly transferred her to his subordinate's arms and turned to protect them from the giant bird.

"Hold on, cousin," the dragoness told Kagome. She dropped quickly and alighted safely amongst the wolf demons prepared for battle. "Here we are," she said as she set her friend down. "Koga wants us to protect her," she told Ginta and Hakkaku.

"Got it," Ginta replied. "Don't worry, sister, we'll protect you."

"You talking to me?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm not your sister. Or your cousin," she said with a pointed look toward Akurei, who looked sheepish.

"Well, according to Koga and the others, you're his woman," the half-demon clarified. She heard a strange sound and looked up just in time to see a Bird of Paradise come swooping in to capture Ginta.

"No! Ginta!" Akurei shouted. Kagome sprinted forward and scooped up a bow and a full quiver of arrows. She nocked an arrow and launched it, shearing the wing from the Bird, causing it to fall to the earth again, dead. "Nice, Kagome!" she shouted. Hakkaku ran past to go check on his friend who was still on the ground. They were all gathered around their comrade when more birds shrieked and dove to attack. "No!" Akurei leapt up and managed to tangle with three of them with her wings, but the other three were still headed directly for Kagome and the others. "Kagome!" she shouted. "Get out of the—" her call was cut off when Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo went flying past her.

"Are you okay, Kagome?" Inuyasha called.

"Inu…" the priestess trailed off and sprinted toward him. She collided with him and held him tightly.

"I was so scared," she sobbed against his chest. Akurei felt really bad for her, but there was a slightly bigger problem at that moment than her fear.

"Guys, I can handle them. Stand back, everyone!" Miroku shouted. He pulled the prayer beads off of his right hand and shouted, "Wind Tunnel!" The wind it created sucked in every single Bird of Paradise, leaving little more than stirred up feathers.

Koga stopped from ascending the mountain long enough to shoot them looks of disdain, well, except for Kagome. "Go home, mutt. I don't have time to train pups," he shouted.

"I'm here to help Kagome!" he shouted back.

"Keep your hands off of my woman!" Koga retaliated. "You really should ditch the mutt. Be with a _real_ warrior, and you'll never go back to trash like him," the wolf demon called down, the scorn plain in his voice.

Everyone turned their heads to her questioningly and in response, she turned bright red.

"He's making it up," she stammered.

Inuyasha's face contorts into an expression that defines fury in a whole new way. "Nobody can buy Kagome like that!" He leaps up and pulls Tetsusaiga free from its sheath. In response, Koga sprints further up the sheer mountain face to evade Inuyasha's attacks.

As Akurei moved to stand behind Kagome, the priestess suddenly shouts, "Koga! It's fifty feet above you!" Koga glances down and nods before leaping up the remaining meters to reach the remainder of the peak.

"Kagome, did you just help him?!" Inuyasha shouted down at her.

"Shut up and fight, dog-breath!" Akurei retorted. The leader of the Birds of Paradise swings around from behind the mountain, catching her eye. "Inuyasha! Behind you!"

He turns around and sees Koga caught in its mouth. Without batting an eye, the dog-demon calmly walks over to a good angle and calls up the Windscar. He uses it, freeing Koga and releasing two of the Sacred Jewel Shards that the demons were fighting over.

"Nice one!" Akurei congratulates. She picks up Kagome and flaps over to her companion, depositing her load next to him. She musses his hair and says, "Guess you aren't a useless pup after all, huh?"

"What made ya think I was useless?" he shouted.

She flashed a sharp-toothed grin as retaliation.

"Now where's that mangy wolf?" Inuyasha started to mutter. He looked around and saw something behind Akurei. She turned and saw that Kagome was holding Koga in her lap due to his injuries. "Wha-? Kagome, you gonna let 'im walk all over ya like that?"

"Inuyasha, he's injured."

"Yeah, right," he scoffed, "Hey, wolf. Get up. I have unfinished business with you." He cracked his knuckles menacingly. Akurei immediately placed herself between him and the injured wolf, snarling.

She lashed her tail and Kagome said, "Inuyasha. You can't fight him. He's too weak."

"Whatever. Come on, mangy wolf! Get up!" he shouted again around Koga.

"Inuyasha SIT!" Kagome shouts. He faceplants into the ground for the umpteenth time and Akurei hisses again and swipes her claws.

The following morning, Akurei's sitting in her small dragon form on Kagome's shoulder. The tension hadn't melted away with a full night's sleep, which usually solves the tiffs that occur. "I wonder why he's so mad. You'd think he'd be in a good mood after fighting all those demons," she murmurs to her companion.

"Kagome, Inuyasha was really worried," Sango said. She was dutifully ignoring the small dragon perched on her friend's shoulder. They had come to a silent agreement to not acknowledge each other unless absolutely necessary, so Akurei and Sango had no love lost between the two of them. Kagome once tried pressing the issue, but found it was going to go nowhere. "You might want to calm him down. This whole ordeal worried him a great deal, and he's very protective of you."

"Okay," she responded. Sango looked satisfied and Kagome stood to sit next to Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, I'm sorry I worried you," she said, "And it's not actually your business, but you don't need to worry about me and Koga. He's not my type."

Inuyasha huffs and says, "Whatever. I don't wanna talk about it." He crouches down next to her, curiosity plain on his face, and asks, "So, what went on between you two, anyway?"

Akurei flopped a paw across her face in exasperation. _This isn't gonna be good,_ she thought.

Kagome stilled suddenly and said very sweetly, "Inuyasha…"

Akurei crawled inside her hair before the impending noise and Kagome said, "I have some self-respect, you know! Whaddya take me for anyway?!"

"Dammit! You didn't have ta bite my head off, you know!" he shouted back, "And besides, I'm sick of rescuing you, anyway!"

"Oh, I get it," Kagome says in a very quiet and dangerous voice. She stood up quickly, causing Akurei to fall off her back and onto Inuyasha's shoulder. "Sango, can I borrow Kirara for a bit?"

The cat in question leapt onto Sango's head and mewled. Akurei rolled over and jumped off of Inuyasha's shoulder as Sango said, "Yes, but why do you need her?"

"She misses her wolf-boy already," Inuyasha mocked.

"I'm going home, idiot!" she shouted. Kirara transformed and Kagome leapt on her back to go back to the village. The others watched her go and Akurei transformed back and smacked Inuyasha upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" he griped with great indignation.

"For being an idiot," she stated simply.

"Whaddya mean 'idiot'?" he growled.

"You implied that she and Koga were in a relationship!" Akurei exploded. "Even though he's not the best or brightest at forming relationships well when it comes to women, he's polite enough to not lay a finger on a girl unless she shows an interest in him, because for all he knows, she belonged to someone else! You are such a fool for making her out to be someone who would go after the first male she laid eyes on." She huffs and turns around, "You're despicable." Without another word, she walked a few feet away and sat down.

"And how do you know so much about him, Akurei?" Sango asked. Akurei didn't notice the dangerous edge in her voice, so she replied, "After you attacked me, a friend of his rescued me and they took me in. I'm an honorary member of the Demon Wolf Tribe."

"You lied to us about knowing him?" Inuyasha yelled.

"Akurei, I'm surprised," Miroku said.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted you," Sango said. "You lied to us."

"No. You just never asked about where I've been living, and I didn't think it was any of your business," she replied quite calmly, "and besides, relationships that others are not willing to disclose are none of your business either, so don't ask me about mine with Koga. The only thing you need to know is that he's a friend and adoptive cousin and I trust him as you would trust your dearly loved ones."

"So we should trust that you're telling the truth when you're not even willing to tell us the truth?" Sango asked accusingly.

"I'm not asking you to trust anything. I'm just asking for my own personal privacy about my relationship with Okami," she said. Her eyes widened and she clapped her hands over her mouth at the slip-up.

"Who's Okami?" Inuyasha asked. By this time, he and Sango were towering over Akurei, who was trying to not back away.

"Inuyasha, Sango, you'll never get answers out of her if you keep threatening to push her over the edge," Miroku interrupted. He pulled his friends away from the edge and offered Akurei a hand so she could step safely away from the edge. Once she was safely perched on a stone, he sat across from her and said, "Now, would you kindly tell us who Okami is and your relationship with Koga is?"

She gulped and said, "Fine. But it's not a fun story. I was shoved by some classmates of mine one day after school, and I fell into a demon's den…"


	14. XIV: Hell Hath no Fury

**_Short chapter, this time, but you get to see how a demon would be accepted if they went to some random family in modern-day Tokyo. Hope you like it! ^^_**

**Chapter XIV: Hell Hath no Fury…**

"Go down! This is Kaede's village!" Inuyasha called from Akurei's back.

_Got it,_ she replied. She tilted her wings and came in close for a landing. The instant her paws hit the ground however, a burst of wind brought her to modern-day Tokyo. Somebody screamed, and remembering her last trip to the modern-age, she leapt up and flew above the skyscrapers to avoid any threats.

About an hour later, she sat atop of one of the radio towers that was on top of many of the skyscrapers, and shifted out of her dragon form. She gazed out over the city to try and get her bearings. She saw the school she went to, flew above it, and managed to trace her usual, now-hazy memory of her home-to-school route back to the neighborhood she lives in. The half-demon landed and began padding up the sidewalk past the cookie-cutter houses until she found one with the chipping paint around the door. She always wanted to repaint the doorway, but there was never time. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

"Mom? Dad? I'm home!" she called.

"Who's there?" her father shouted.

"It's me. Akurei," she retorted.

Her parents walked into the entryway and her mother fainted straightaway while her father leapt to grab his shotgun he kept specifically in the event something like this happened. _He looks like Inuyasha_, Akurei thought idly. Indeed, her father was the spitting image of her ally/friend, only with short dark grey hair. Her mother looked the same save for the silver eyes the two females had.

"What are you?!" her father shouted.

"It's me, dad. It's Akurei."

"Get out. My daughter is not a monster. She's been missing for months, and she is not whatever thing you are!" he shouted. "Now get out before I call the police!"

"Seriously dad, it's me. Who else would it be?" she asked.

"You're not my daughter," he said, almost fearfully. "Now get out or I'll shoot you."

"What?" That stopped her cold. She hadn't been expecting that. Her thigh ached at the memory of her previous gunshot wound. "You would actually shoot me?"

"Whatever you are, you're not my daughter. I don't know where you came from or why, but you have no business with us," he repeated.

"Can I just get my stuff? Seriously," she huffed and walked past him, deciding to risk the bullet to the chest. He cringed away from her as she stalked past, tail swishing. She ran up the stairs and quickly packed a bag full of personal necessities like human-looking clothes should she need them, toothbrush, hairbrush, and all the goodies a girl could possibly need to keep looking presentable. The unmistakable _clack-clack_ of the shotgun resounded directly behind her head.

"Get. Out. Now," her father said. With each word, a footstep was audible and the muzzle pushed on her head.

"Okay, I'm going," she surrendered, satisfied that she had what she wanted. "Maybe next time I return, I won't even bother knocking."

"Don't ever return here, monster!" he cried. The fear was palpable in his voice.

"Fine," she said. Without needing a second glance at the fearful man who raised her, she leapt straight through the thick glass of her window, dropping into the alley gracefully three floors below. She stood and shouldered her bag before running off into the streets, in search of a certain priestess.

About fifteen minutes after walking around, Akurei was standing in front of the school. She had shifted to look human, but hadn't changed her clothes. _Maybe I shouldn't have come. It'd probably be best to just wait until school's out and find her then,_ she thought. _Oh, whatever. I'll just drop off a note asking them to loan me a backroom so I can talk to her. Yeah, that should work._

She rummaged through her stuff, found a pencil and a piece of paper, and started scribbling.

"Yes, how may I help you?" the secretary said distractedly as she typed in codes and clicked madly away at the computer.

"I need you to loan me a back office for a few minutes if you please," Akurei replied quietly, "and could you please call this student out of class? I won't need to speak with her long, but I need to speak with her in private."

The secretary took the note and read it over. She nodded and said, "Yes, one moment, please." She walked over to the back and said something quietly, managing to shoo a man in a suit out of an office. She returned and said, "You can wait back there, dear. Now I just need to call Ms. Higurashi out of class. She should be here in a few moments."

"Thank you," Akurei responded. She quickly made her way to the back office that the secretary specified. About ten minutes later, Kagome was escorted in by the secretary. "I'll leave you to talk. I have papers to organize."

When the secretary left, Akurei pulled the hood of her cloak back and stood, "Kagome, I don't know what happened, but I suddenly returned here. What's going on?"

"Akurei, what're you doing here? I thought you were with Inuyasha and the others," the priestess responded.

"I was, but when I landed after flying to a village, I ended up over in the main office district. You know, the one with all those radio towers."

"Hm. I wonder why you came back. I only came back this morning. I was surprised that you guys weren't there when I left."

"That might have been my fault. I'm sorry. We had an argument and I had to tell them my association with Koga."

"You know him?" she cocked her head to the side.

"Yes, but that's beside the point. I have a favor to ask. You can say no, but I don't have much else I can do," the half-demon waved her hand, "Can I stay with you? My parents just kicked me out of my house and I don't have any family I can stay with."

She nodded, "Yeah, come walk home with me and I'll ask mom and gramps if you can stay with us. Why did they kick you out?"

"Maybe because I look like a 'monster'," she replied.

"Oh. Do you need anything?"

"Just a place to sleep and some food to eat. Aside from that, I should be good. I only managed to get one of my school uniforms, though. I have other clothes in here too," she tapped the bag with one bare human foot.

"You really don't have much you can do, do you?" Kagome responded. She was looking at her bare feet in sympathy.

"Yeah, so can I come with you?"

"Sure thing," she replied, "But I need to get back to class. What am I going to tell the teacher, though?"

"Just tell them you needed to pick something up, or something. It doesn't really matter so long as you don't say that I'm here. I don't know what they'd do," Akurei said. "I'd better go. The secretary will be wondering where you've gone."

"Okay. I'll meet you outside the gate after school's out and take you home with me."

"Agreed."

"See you."

"Later."


	15. XV: My How Time Flies!

**_Yes, there's a closet. No, Akurei isn't coming out of it. (Sorry, but I'm a sucker for bad jokes. ^^;) Here's Akurei's first real trip back to the modern age. And the closet/small office/bedroom is entirely fictitious, but I didn't want to make the house seem like it has a ridiculous number of rooms, so I compromised with a large closet. Hope you like it!_**

**Chapter XV: My How Time Flies!**

Akurei was sitting on Kagome's bed, watching her work. "So how long was I in the Feudal Age?" she asked.

"Well, I've been coming and going for a few months, so my guess is that you've been there for that long, if you fell through when you said you did," Kagome replied. She scratched away at her math homework.

"Hm. Well, it's just too weird that we both fell through on our birthdays," Akurei said, noting the two girls shared a birthdate. However, Akurei was born in the dark of night while Kagome was born knowing the sun's warming light. "Do you stay here long?"

"Not really. I usually just stay to take tests and catch up on classes, but Inuyasha usually comes and bothers me. He probably won't this time, though." Her voice was a bit sad.

"Why not? Is it because you two had that stupid argument?"

"Yeah. He was worried and I kinda threw it back in his face," she slumped against the desk. "I wouldn't blame him if he didn't come."

"I told him what really is going on as far as Koga's feelings. Koga isn't the type to try and steal another man's woman away from him, so his attachment to you is incredibly strong if he tries to take you from Inuyasha. The few times I met him, he never went for me because he knew I was with Okami. He wouldn't try anything unless he really cares for you, which he does."

"Who's Okami? You never really said," Kagome whipped around, staring intently at her classmate.

"He's a friend of mine. He saved me from Sango when I first fell through the well and became a half-demon," Akurei said. She fidgeted slightly at the white lie. _He's not really a friend, but he's not my boyfriend or fiancée or anything,_ she thought. "He took care of me and helped me get acquainted with the Wolf Demon Tribe and be accepted by them."

"Really? What's he like?" the other girl pressed.

"He's funny, nice, personable. Pretty much the opposite of me," she said. "He's usually quick with a joke and willing to self-deprecate in an effort to make someone laugh. Like all of the wolf demons, if someone hurts his comrades, he doesn't take it lightly." She sighed. "He's probably wondering where I ran off to."

"You're nice, Akurei," Kagome said, "Wait, do you love him?"

"Define 'love.'"

"Are you _in_ love with him?"

"Okami? If he chose to take a mate, it's none of my business, nor is it my place to object," she said.

"Why not?" the other girl pushed on. She seemed intent on getting every single sliver of information out of Akurei about Okami.

"I'm a half-demon, and Okami's never expressed any interest in sharing his love life with me. Okami told me it's not a good idea for a half-demon to be involved with regular demons, because half-demons are thought to never belong anywhere, but they accepted me, so I don't want to destroy the best thing that's happened to me. So until he says something, I shouldn't ask him about it. He's nice, but I don't want to hurt him."

"How about we go see him?" she chirped suddenly.

"See who?" Akurei asked.

"Okami, of course. He sounds nice, and since you're a member of the Demon Wolf Tribe, they won't attack, right?"

"I don't know, I'm only an honorary member, and most of them hold grudges against humans," she shifted to the side, mildly uncomfortable.

"Well, come on. You'll only know if he loves you if you ask," Kagome pleaded.

Akurei sighed. "Fine. But for the love of all that's good in the world, please don't try to kill anyone."

"No problem." Kagome sounded extremely happy about this.

As the girls were talking and giggling some more, Mama Higurashi walks in and says, "Akurei? I'm sorry we don't have a spare room for you, but we've cleaned out the hallway walk-in closet, so you have somewhere to sleep. We can make better arrangements if you'd like, but Sota and grampa share a room and Kagome's room is a bit small for the two of you." She looked like she'd been cleaning all day, certainly.

Akurei smiled, "A closet is all I need, Mrs. Higurashi."

"That's good. Let me know if there's anything you need. I'm going to start dinner." She walked out of the room and down the stairs.

"You guys opened up some closetspace for me?" Akurei asked.

"Uh, I guess. Wanna check it out?" Kagome asked. She hopped up and grabbed Akurei's hand, tugging her toward the closet. "The closet's actually kinda big for a closet. You can fit a twin fold-out bed in it and use the closet drawers for shelves and whatnot if you have stuff you need to keep safe. I'm sorry it's not an actual bedroom, though."

"Don't worry about it. I don't have or need that much. Once you've lived the life of a demon, you kinda forget the material pleasures you have here."

"Well, here it is," Kagome said as she pulled the door open. Inside, it looked like a small bedroom. The bed was on one side, with about of foot of space between it and the drawers. Along the sides were racks and drawers for storing clothes, empty and ready to use. "Oh, mom put sheets on the bed, already. I guess that's one less thing to worry about."

"Yeah. That's really nice of her," Akurei agreed. She put her bag down and started putting her things on the racks and in drawers. As a finishing touch, she set her alarm clock on a small ledge next to the head of the bed. After plugging it in, the time flashed, illuminating how late it had gotten.

"I probably ought to go back to studying. Let me know if you need anything," Kagome said.

"'Kay," she replied. Once the priestess was gone, Akurei sat heavily on the bed and finally let a few tears leak out. _It was terrifying, being there one minute, here the next,_ she thought, _I really hope we can figure out why I do this randomly._

She sat there and thought about reasons why it happened, but it kept coming down to their shared birthday: why would one be affected by a space-time warp that only occurred to the other?

She mused and thought for the better part of thirty minutes, and jumped when a call from downstairs reached her ears for "Dinner!"

Tentatively, she opened the door and walked out. By the time she reached the table, everyone was already seated. "Here, Akurei, I put an extra place next to Kagome, since you already know her," Mama Higurashi said.

"Th-thanks," she stammered as she took her seat. A young boy was staring openly at her. When Akurei's ear twitched, his eyes instantly focused on that. Everything about her seemed to fascinate him. "Um, what's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Sota. Hey, are you related to Inuyasha? You look like him, but your hair's darker," he said.

"No, I'm not. I didn't even know he existed until a few days ago," she said. She picked up her chopsticks and started eating, not letting the unnerving stares bother her. Only Kagome wasn't staring since she got used to Akurei's ears. Her cloak slid back to allow for easier eating, revealing the tight clothing that was characteristic of the Demon Wolf Tribe. The black fur shined and the linen shoulder wrap was pristine as she ate. "It's been a while since I've felt so many synthetic materials," she said, "it's kind of refreshing to be among sights I've grown up with."

"So you're from here, Akurei?" Mama Higurashi asked.

"Yes. I fell into a demon's cave and became a half-demon when I killed it. Apparently I've been there for several months, but it's been long enough to forget how to behave and how people look in the modern age. I keep forgetting that kimonos aren't worn anymore except for formal occasions and such," she said.

"Cool! So you're a half-demon too?" Sota sounded thoroughly impressed.

"I guess so."

"Well, Akurei, how long do you plan on staying with us?" Kagome's mother asked.

"I don't know. I guess I'll go back tomorrow or whenever Kagome decides to go back. I don't know where to go or anything, so I guess she's stuck with me for a while."

"Well, why don't you come back to school with me?" Kagome offered. "It'll be good for you to get caught up in school."

"Uh, okay. That is, if you're okay with me sticking close to you."

"No problem. It's kinda hard to stay caught up when you're coming and going from the Feudal Age, but I'm used to it."

"Okay. So I'll go with you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. And you'll get to meet my friends."

"Oh. Okay."

The following morning, Akurei was having problems with her school uniform. Her wings fit inside the shirt, but it was kind of tight, not enough to be noticeable, but still. The main issue was her legs and tail: she just couldn't make herself seem human. Suddenly, she remembered that she bought a long skirt that fits the school dress code. She rummaged through her bag and pulled it out triumphantly. "Yes!" she muttered gleefully. She took the short one off and pulled the long one over her legs and tail. It brushed the ground and completely hid her legs and tail. All she had to do was not mess up and expose her legs or tail.

She opened the door and walked downstairs with her notebook. Her textbooks were gone somewhere in a demon's cave in the past.

"Good morning, Akurei," Mama Higurashi said. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"That smells really good," Akurei said.

"Well, there's plenty for everyone, so dig in."

Akurei took her words to heart and took polite portions, but lots of them. Sota was staring at how much she was eating, his chopsticks not leaving his mouth. Mama Higurashi had made enough for six people and Akurei ate her share, another, and then whatever else remained that nobody wanted. "That was amazing, Mrs. Higurashi," she said when she finished, "I don't think I tasted such good home cooking." She stood and turned to Kagome, "You ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah," she said. She took a last bite of rice and stood with her bag in hand. "See you later, mom! Bye gramps!"

She and the demon walked out of the door and made their way to the gate. A few minutes later, they were at a busy street corner, where three girls joined them. "Hey Kagome, who's your friend?" the one with shoulder-length hair said.

"Her name's Akurei. She's been staying with us for a few days," Kagome said, "Akurei, this is Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka."

"Hello," Akurei murmured.

"Akurei… as in Akurei Hayashi?" the one called Eri asked.

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"What're you doing with Kagome?"

"Well," she looked at Kagome, panicked. She hadn't been anticipating this, so she just said whatever B.S. came to mind. Right then she remembered how Kagome said her grandfather called her in as ill constantly to let her travel through the Feudal time. So she went with it.

"I've been helping the Higurashi's out with Kagome, since she keeps getting sick. Now her mom can focus on her work and her grandfather doesn't have to worry. I know some things about in-house patients, so it works." She shrugged.

"Whatever. Aren't you the one that managed to start a class fight? And pull the fire alarm in sixth grade?"

"No and no. Those were ridiculous rumors started by the same person who did them. I had the bad luck of breaking up the fight and witnessing the whole thing with the alarm, but I was blamed for both."

"What about the incident with the cats being set loose in the school?"

"As funny as that would have been, that wasn't me either. I wasn't even at school that day." She sighed and started walking. "You shouldn't believe everything you hear, you know. People get things wrong all the time." She kept walking toward the school, letting Kagome hang back with her friends. _It's better she doesn't associate with me,_ Akurei thought, _she won't have to deal with gossip and rumors._

"Akurei, wait up!" Kagome called from behind her. She turned and saw the four girls running to catch up. When they caught up, Kagome panted, "You walk really fast, you know?"

"Oh, sorry," she replied, mildly sheepish. "Ready to continue?"

"Yeah. Let's go." The four girls continued to their school, which was now in sight. When they got in, Akurei peeled off to go to her first class while Kagome, Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka went to their respective classes.

When Akurei got into her trigonometry class, she saw with shock that it was a different set of students than the ones she remembered. "Um," she looked down at her schedule. It had the right class and everything, but the classmates were different. She sighed and plopped into a desk near the back, so she didn't have to be in the spotlight. Everyone there was really quiet for a few minutes until they got used to her presence. _This is gonna be a long day…_ Akurei thought.


	16. XVI: It's Complicated

**_Sorry guys! Just realized that I jacked up on some details that are pretty big, and I just fixed it. :3_  
**

**Chapter XVI: It's Complicated**

"Alright girls. Do you have everything you need?" Mama Higurashi asked as she stood in the doorway of the Bone-Eater's Well shrine.

"Yep. Thanks again, mom," Kagome said. Her bag was bulging with stuff as Akurei just kind of stood there next to Inuyasha.

"Ready to go, Kagome?" the silvery-haired half-demon asked.

"Yes. Let's go."

Inuyasha and Kagome leapt through the well first, and Akurei wasn't far behind. She was actually very, _very_ close behind, because when she appeared on the other side of the well, she landed on Inuyasha, knocking him to the ground. "Dammit, what was that for?!" he shouted.

"Sorry! You okay?" she got off of him and helped him up.

"Yeah. Whatever. Now jump straight up. You should be able to make it," he said. Without another word, he picked Kagome up and leapt up, just as he instructed. It was a perfect jump since he landed safely on the edge of the well, and, well, knew what he was doing. Akurei waited until he was out of sight before following. This time, she didn't land on him, and her talons dug into the weathered wood of the well. She looked around in amazement at the forest around them. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo were already greeting Kagome and Inuyasha. But there was an older woman with them who Akurei didn't recognize. The older woman walked over and said, "Hello. My name is Kaede. What are ye called?"

"I'm Akurei." She looked closely and recognized that her clothing marked her as a priestess. "Is there a village nearby?"

"Aye, child. That's where you landed when ye disappeared, but here you are again. 'Tis strange. Come with me and rest."

Akurei looked nervously at Kagome, who said, "Come on. Kaede's really nice."

Akurei nodded and followed the others, staying on Inuyasha's left since Sango was on his right. She still wasn't sure why the demon-hunter didn't trust her, but she wasn't about to start a fight with someone for no reason.

A few moments later, the forest opened up to a valley where a village lay nestled safely between some hills. Before she walked with the others, she spied a wolf in the forest. She managed to catch up to it and stop it. "Excuse me, I won't be long, but I need you to send a message for me," she said. The wolf sat down and waited for her to tell it where to go and who to find. "And when you find him, tell him that I'm planning on visiting sometime soon. Can you do that?"

The wolf yipped an affirmative and stood. Without another word, Akurei left and the wolf sprinted off to the north, in search of a specific demon.

By the time Akurei returned to the path, the others were nearing the village entrance. She ran down the steep hill, catching up quickly. Inuyasha turned when he heard the rocks sliding across each other, but didn't stop. However, he held the flap open to let her inside the hut. When the half-demons entered, Kaede said, "The two of ye look related."

The two looked at each other. Akurei turned and sat next to Kagome and said, "We're not."

"Kagome, did you bring any of your ninja food?" Shippo asked. He was already perched on her shoulder.

"Yeah, and I brought you this," she handed him a lollipop.

"Yum!" he stuck it in his mouth.

"And I have this for Miroku, these are for you, Sango," she handed her friends instant-food parcels, "and these are for you, Inuyasha, Kaede."

Everyone dug in gratefully with the instant noodles and soda and chips that Kagome had brought. The sounds of munching and gossip filled the air for the better part of a half hour as everyone enjoyed their lunches.

"So, Akurei," Kagome started, "when are you going to let us meet Okami?"

_This again? Seriously,_ Akurei thought. "Well, we can go meet him now, if you'd like. He only lives about a week away, if you run. Since we can fly, it should only take about three days."

"Who's Okami? Is that that wolf boy you were talkin' about?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yes, he is," Akurei said, "And when we go, try not to make too much fun of them. They don't like that."

"Keh. Whatever."

"Seriously. It's dangerous to provoke them when you're far from all of your friends. We'll leave tomorrow morning." She stood up and walked out of the hut to go look for somewhere to sleep. From within the hut, she heard an argument and then Kagome shout, "SIT!" with a loud _whump!_ that shook the ground.

The following morning, Akurei climbed down from her tree that she had slept in, the gray light of dawn just beginning to make the shadows retreat. She shimmied down and walked back to the hut. When she walked in, Inuyasha was already awake, but the others were still sleeping. "Morning," she said quietly. "Should I go get breakfast?"

"Eh, if you want," Inuyasha shrugged and settled back into a light slumber. Without making a sound, Akurei stood again and walked out. She knew the others could take care of themselves, but Akurei wanted to make up for arguing with them and making them think she lied to them. She got to the river and caught a few fish by batting them out with her talons. Utilizing the handy tricks Okami taught her, she cleaned it so it was ready to eat after being cooked. She did the same for the other seven fish. By this time, dawn was well under way, so she got up and took the fish back to the hut. They were starting to wake up, so Akurei moved to the fire and began stoking it to get the coals glowing again. After they were a nice reddish-orange color, she started adding sticks to get a fire started and laid the fish on some flat, smooth stones to get them cooking.

The smell of cooking fish managed to wake everyone up finally, and they all started eating their fish. After speaking to Kaede some more and getting her pack ready, Kagome was ready to go and they all left the village. Sango and Miroku rode on Kirara while Kagome and Inuyasha and Shippo rode on Akurei's back.

The trip was fairly uneventful since they were in the air, but they covered a lot of ground and were about halfway to the mountains by sunset. Kirara and Akurei landed next to a river, so the others could get camp started while someone caught fish.

The next two days were in much the same fashion, but Akurei wanted them to walk, or at least not descend from the sky to arrive, since the wolves would still be concerned about whatever Birds of Paradise may still be left, even though they were all sucked into Miroku's Wind Tunnel. Once they reached the right gorge, Akurei said, "Okay, guys, follow me and try not to fall when we get to the cliffs. The sentries probably already know we're here, so don't be surprised if you see some black or dark grey or brown wolves following us."

She started walking and stepping around fragile parts of the stone and leaping twenty to thirty foot gaps that the others had to be careful of. About thirty minutes later, they reached what appeared to be a dead-end. "Where do ya think you're taking us?" Inuyasha griped, "It's not even here."

"Yes it is," she replied calmly. At his confused look, she pointed straight up to a dark patch about one hundred fifty feet up. "That's the cave. It's easy to defend, and it allows them a good view of their territories. Now, do I need to carry someone? Or can you guys make it up?"

"We've got it, Akurei, don't worry," Miroku assured her.

She nodded and turned. Focusing on the cave, she leapt straight up the cliff face, her claws catching stones and propelling her even higher. She landed on her favorite, if rickety spot, and watched as Inuyasha made his way up without a lot of problems. Miroku and Sango were on Kirara as she floated up the cliff. Satisfied that they weren't having troubles, Akurei climbed the rest of the way and leapt straight into the wolf den. "Akurei!" Okami called. "You're here!"

Akurei remembered the fear she felt every time she left the camp, and all of her relief to be back in the den made her sprint to him and practically bowl him over. "I'm back," she huffed as she hugged him tightly.

"You okay?" he asked. He pulled away a bit and looked her over. "You're not hurt this time, thank god."

"The others are on their way up, but I just missed it here," she said, ignoring his question. She clung to him, her actions speaking more of her fear and nerves than her words. He ran his hand soothingly down her long hair and saw Inuyasha leap up safely onto the ledge that led into the cave, Kirara and her load just behind him. "Oh good, you made it," Akurei said.

"God, Akurei. Did ja have ta leave us behind?" Inuyasha whined.

"Well, it's not like I wanted to babysit you. And besides, you had it under control."

"Um, Akurei, who's he?" Okami asked.

"Oh, sorry. The silver-haired one is Inuyasha and the girl with him is Kagome. Shippo's the little fox demon with her. Sango's the demon hunter and Miroku's the monk behind her. They're riding Kirara, Sango's cat. Everyone, this is Okami," she introduced. She felt more at ease now that she had the strength of the wolf pack with her, so the words came easily. Being tucked under Okami's arm made her feel a bit more secure about her life and her place in the Feudal Age. "You all met him when you attacked us for my Jewel Shards."

"Nice to meet you, Okami," Kagome said. She had slipped off of Inuyasha's back by this point and was walking forward. Sango and Miroku leapt off of Kirara, who transformed into her small size. Inuyasha kept close to his priestess friend, most likely because he didn't seem to trust the wolves the way Akurei did.

"Hello again," Okami said, the picture of politeness. "So why did you come up this way?" he asked.

"We came to visit," Akurei said, "But the others are also looking for shards of the Jewel."

"Ah. Well, feel free to go out and search," he said, "but we," he gestured to himself and Akurei, "need to catch up. Feel free to make yourself comfortable, and a word of advice," he looked pointedly at Sango, "keep an eye on that cat of yours. One of the wolves might try and chase her. And you," he pointed to Inuyasha and Miroku, "might want to keep an eye on your women. The demons might get a taste for human girl, and it's not always for dinner."

It took Inuyasha a moment to understand, but when he did, a look of rage came and went before he nodded and said, "Good to know."

"Boys, you can set up camp near where I usually sleep," Akurei offered. "There are a couple of ledges near the back that are covered in big claw marks and you can put your stuff there. The wolves won't get into it, don't worry. And it'll be out of the way, too."

Her companions nodded and started toward the back of the cavern, finding the three outcroppings without problems. The biggest could fit three, which was handy when you had wings and a tail. They laid their belongings on the ledges and left to go and see if they could find anything that might point to the location of a shard. When they reached the entrance, Kagome looked back, only to find that Akurei and Okami had gone over to some pelts and were sitting there talking. She smiled and climbed onto Kirara with Sango, Miroku, and Shippo while Inuyasha started his descent along the cliff.

Okami sat next to Akurei, who was lounging back against some furs next to her favorite wolf, a sleek dark grey female whose fur was the same shade as Akurei's hair. He shooed her away and took her spot. "Akurei, what happened? When you left, you didn't send word, and I only recently heard from some of Koga's underlings that there was a battle between them and the Birds of Paradise."

"Well, you see, Kagome was kinda kidnapped by Koga, even though she seems to be with Inuyasha, and I had to get her back, 'cuz I like Koga enough to want him alive. Inuyasha was hellbent on getting her back, even if he needed to kill Koga, so I stopped it. Then when they tried to attack the Birds of Paradise, I needed to protect Kagome and the Wolf Tribe of the East. I found out what happened to the Jewel, though."

"What happened?"

"That priestess, Kagome, broke it trying to get it away from a demon and shards were scattered throughout the land. Now they're in a race with a demon named Naraku to get all the shards before the other."

"Oh. That's not good. Is there anything we can do?"

"I would think that you shouldn't get involved. He managed to place a generational curse on Miroku's family to have a tunnel of strong wind manifest in their right hands, growing larger and stronger every year until it consumes them entirely. He can control people and manipulate their emotions by capturing someone dear. If he knew you were connected to us, it would only give him a way to manipulate me, and I don't want you or the wolves getting dragged into this." She clung to him and he wrapped an arm protectively around her.

He sighed. "Fine, but can I give you something first?"

"What is it?"

He pulled out a string with a few objects clinking softly on it. "This is for you." He showed her the necklace, a simple long twine with a fang attached by a silver clasp, and a claw attached by a golden one, and rested his forehead against hers and his deep green eyes met her silver ones.

She pulled away and slipped the necklace over her head. It was a bit long, so she looped it a few times, making the fang and claw rest lightly below the hollow in her throat.

"It's a wolf's claw and a dragon's fang," he said, "And don't ask how hard it was to get a fang out of a living dragon's mouth without getting charred."

She laughed and said, "It's perfect. Thank you." She hugged him and they sat curled together for a while longer.

Without warning, Kagome's giggle broke in right behind Akurei, making them both jump. "What?!" Okami yelped.

"I knew it!" she singsonged.

"Knew what?" Inuyasha asked.

"She loves him."

"So?"

"Ehrm, when did you guys get back?" Akure spluttered. Her face turned cherry-red at the sudden interruption. She and Okami slid apart and shuffled uncomfortably.

"Oh, only about ten minutes ago."

"Great. Find anything?"

"Not really, but we might have a lead. But we needed to call it a night," she said with a yawn.

Akurei nodded, "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. There are things that make the Birds of Paradise look harmless."

"Alright. So which ledge do you sleep on?" she asked.

"The biggest one, but wherever works," she shrugged.

Miroku and Inuyasha nodded and made their way to the back of the cave. Within minutes they had bedding out and ready and were lying down to sleep. Akurei and Okami followed suit, quickly finding places to lie down on the smaller of the three ledges. It was a bit tight, but then again, when the cave is full, it's almost impossible to get up early without waking at least three other demons or wolves before being able to leave the cave.

As she settled down, Akurei thought back to what Miroku had said when they first met each other. _Is he your husband?_

_No,_ she had replied, _but he's a friend._

_He's kind,_ she thought. Without another thought, she curled her tail up under her cloak and went to sleep. She couldn't remember which guy she meant, whether it was Okami, Koga, Miroku, or even stubborn and thick-headed Inuyasha.


	17. XVII: Where are the Shards?

**Chapter XVII: Where are the Shards?**

The following morning, Akurei awoke to sounds of clamor and lots of talking. Okami was already up and arguing with some other men. The men were getting spears prepared and were talking about attacking. Okami seemed firmly against it, since he was the loudest protestor. "Um, what's going on?" she asked.

Nobody answered her, so she shook Kagome and Inuyasha awake. "Huh?" Kagome asked. "What time is it?"

"It's just after dawn," she replied. "Now come on, something's happening."

"What's going on?" Inuyasha said.

"I'm not sure. Get up and get ready to leave. I'm gonna go see what's going on."

She walked to the mouth of the cave and spotted Daiki. "Daiki!"

"Good morning Akurei," he said, turning to her, "Do you want to join the hunting party? We just received word about a lord having a tremendous number of the shards of the Shikon Jewel."

"So you're all moving out to go and retrieve the shards?"

"Yes. Not all of us are going, though. Just an elite force to go and take the shard. We'll split it amongst ourselves when we find it. I'm going with them, and my second is going to lead the remainders in my stead."

"Then I'm gonna stay behind. You shouldn't go either, Daiki."

"It's too bad you feel that way, because we could have used your strength as part of our attack against this lord."

"I'm sorry, Daiki, but something doesn't seem right about this."

"Okay. Men! Let's move out!"

A chorus of shouts and yells of affirmation followed him as he led the group out of the cave. "I doubt they're coming back," a voice said right next to her. Akurei turned and saw Okami's disapproving glare. She shrugged and said, "What can we do? He's the leader of the tribe and it's not our place to tell _him_ what to do."

"True, but still. I don't like him doing this. It's reckless," he replied, "And however much I like Daiki, his second is ridiculous. Aki's good at being a warrior, but he's not always the brightest for diplomacy."

"And that's why you're Daiki's third. You're supposed to keep the second in line and be useful. So you're the second now," Akurei said.

Inuyasha walked over and said, "So there's a shard of the Jewel that a prince is holding?"

"Yes, but we probably shouldn't go after it. There's something strange about it."

"I don't care. Kagome! Let's get movin'!" he called.

Kagome and the others ran up to them, ready to go. Akurei sighed and said, "Okay, if you insist."

She changed into a dragon, allowing Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo onto her back. _See you later, Okami,_ she said.

"Goodbye. Take care," he said.

She nodded and ran to the edge and took off. Kirara was right behind her with Sango and Miroku astride her back. The group flew with the wind to the south in hopes of finding a big piece of the mystical gem so sought after by demons and humans.


	18. XVIII: Deadly Battle of the Demons

**Chapter XVIII: Deadly Battle of the Demons**

For three days Akurei and Kirara flew the group through forests and along rivers, trying to catch a scent of anything strange when suddenly they find some very demonic-looking wasps.

"Look! Saimyosho!" Miroku called.

"I bet I know who they belong to!" Inuyasha growled. He jerked Akurei's mane to follow them.

She snarled and her voice ripped through his mind with a sharp _Hey! Quit that! I'm not a horse that you can just yank on my mane like reins and steer me!_

"Well, follow them!" he replied. He kept a tight grip on her mane, but let her do the driving so to speak. She quickly banked after them, rising above the branches right behind them. They always stayed far enough away to be safe from attacks, but close enough for them to follow. When Akurei slowed, she landed and shifted back before she started running after them. The Saimyosho were still waiting for them. Inuyasha had Kagome on his back and Kirara was still flying, but stayed low. The demon wasps stayed above the treetops but led the group through the woods until the trees stopped suddenly, revealing a large castle that absolutely stank of blood, fear, and demonic miasma.

"Such a strong miasma!" Miroku exclaimed.

"And it stinks of Naraku," Inuyasha confirmed. He didn't notice Akurei's eyes had turned purple and she sucked in part of the miasma, breathing it in like it was sweet perfume. The area around her glimmered faintly silver as the miasma became hers and increased her power some, giving her energy. Her eyes returned to normal and she said, "Well, I won't forget this scent. Let's go get him."

"For once we can agree," Inuyasha said. He bounded off through the gate, the others hot on his heels, and they all stopped short, horrified at the scene.

Bodies littered the ground, both human and lupine, scattered amongst and painted crimson in the blood of their fallen comrades. Their corpses were completely lacerated by cruel, cutting blades that were nowhere in sight. Nothing but the sound of the wind whispered through the courtyard for a few minutes as they all tried to process the sight.

Akurei's breath caught in her throat as she took in the sight and suddenly a shriek filled the air. The others jumped at the sound and looked around for the source, seeing that Akurei had fallen to her knees. Her look of horror matched the sound she was making. In a crazy moment, Sango dropped to her knees beside the horrified half-demon and said, "Akurei, you have to stop, grief isn't going to get you your revenge."

Just then she was able to make out the words of what Akurei was saying within her scream. It was the names of everyone who fought and died, along with her promise to destroy whoever killed them, along with the word "no" scattered between the names of the fallen. But she only repeated the names of her tribe leader and her favorite dark grey wolf. She ran out of breath and when the two girls were just panting heavily, her voice was hoarse as she said, "That fiend killed my family, my friends. He will rue the day I find him for I will rip his heart out and crush it until he is little more than so much dust floating in the wind."

She whipped her head up and turned to face the front door of the castle. A woman clothed in several layers of kimonos with red eyes and a fan stood there. "Oh, how sad, the little freak lost her band of miscreants," her voice slicked through the blood-soaked evening, "And hello to you, Inuyasha, Kagome, monk, Sango."

"What did you do to them?!" Akurei cried. She stood and flexed her claws, tail lashing behind her.

"If a man loses his head, I make him walk without it. Cut a soldier in two and he'll still dance. Because you see, they're dancing to my undead song." She opened her fan and waved it once, letting a breeze flow over the bodies. It brushed against them, light as a feather, but in its wake, the dead bodies began to rise, their limbs reconnecting where severed, injuries seeming to flow together as though they never existed. What was worst for Akurei, was seeing her favorite wolf rise again, eyes dead where the golden irises once glowed, and Daiki, his shoulder knitting together as though he had healed, but his head lolled as proof that he was dead.

"Aw, dammit all! Akurei! You better help me fight them!" Inuyasha said. He drew his Tetsusaiga and started swinging away at the corpses. Every time he fatally wounded one, blood flowed, but the wound was knitted together again, allowing the body to attack again. Seeing Inuyasha in the middle of the horde, Akurei joined in, kicking her comrades and tearing at them with her talons. Sango and Miroku helped attempt to cut them down, but they weren't making any headway. Suddenly, the dead men were released from their spell and their blood coated Inuyasha and Akurei.

Just as the last of them fell to the ground, another scream penetrated the air. Akurei and the others turned in the direction of the scream and saw Koga standing on the roof of the palace wall. "How dare you! Inuyasha!" he shouted.

"Koga! It's not like that!" Kagome shouted.

"Kagome! Don't even try to defend that _cur!_" he cried. "And Akurei! I thought we could trust you!"

"I did nothing!" she shouted. Blood and tears flowed down her face from having to fight her friends' bodies. "They were already dead!"

"_Liar!_" he screamed.

"I'm _not_ lying!"

"I will avenge my Tribe!" he shouted. He leapt down and charged the two half-demons.

"Kagome get out of the way!" Inuyasha shouted. Kagome and Shippo ran out of the way from the charging demon. Akurei dropped to the ground and whipped her leg under Inuyasha's, making him fall forward and not get hit by Koga's fierce kick.

"That the best you can do, mutt?!" he shouted. He slid and turned around, attacking the half-demon.

"I'm just gettin' started," Inuyasha said. The bloody ground made it hard to walk, but they managed. He lifted his Tetsusaiga and charged, but when Koga moved to block, he managed to push Inuyasha's sword back with explosive force.

"He pushed the Tetsusaiga back!" Sango exclaimed.

"His arm! It's glowing with an unnatural light!" Kagome said.

True to her word, Koga's arm was glowing with a foul purple-black light. He turned around and ran straight past Inuyasha to attack Akurei. His hand glowed with an unholy light. Akurei didn't raise a claw to fight him, but tried to dodge, and failed.

His hand struck her with tremendous force, sending her flying into the wall of the castle. "You're not gonna fight, half-breed?!"

As she slid down, rocks came tumbling after, further dazing her. She sat up and shouted, "No! I don't want to fight you!" Wincing, she got up and rubbed her left shoulder where Koga had struck her. _Damn,_ she held her arm gingerly; _I think he dislocated my shoulder, if it's not broken that is._

She pressed on it and gasped as fire shot through her nerves. _Yep, it's broken._

"Come on, half-breed! Stand and fight!" Koga said. When she didn't say anything else, he scoffed and attacked Inuyasha again. While they fought, Sango and Miroku ran inside with Akruei covering them. While they were inside, she turned and wrapped her shoulder with the linen to keep the bone from moving out of place, and helped to defend the two fighters from each other. She swung her tail between them, allowing Inuyasha to regain his breath. Koga slid back a few feet and when he regained his balance, he kicked her away, making her yelp like a dog, and said, "I'll deal with _you_ later."

"Don't threaten people like that!" Inuyasha shouted. He ran forward and swung his sword, making Akurei skitter out of the way just in time…

…to see Koga defend himself and knock the Tetsusaiga flying out of Inuyasha's hands.

"Dammit!" Inuyasha cried as he watched his sword fly off.

"Aw, too bad you lost your sword," Koga taunted as he danced away. Akurei took this opportunity to try and trip him, but accidentally tripped Inuyasha instead. She righted him immediately, but Inuyasha brushed her off and the two ran at each other.

"_Iron-reaver soul-stealer!_" Inuyasha shouted. His claws glinted gold and Koga struck at the exact same time, their arms colliding with explosive force.

When Inuyasha turned around to attack again, he wasn't lifting his right arm. Or rather, moving it at all. _Oh no,_ she thought, _his arm is injured._

"Koga! Stop this folly!" Akurei shouted. "You two will just destroy yourselves!"

"Akurei! How dare you turn against your comrades!" he shouted back. "You will pay with your lives!"

He charged her, his right arm sparking with demonic lightning. "_Shadow shield!_" Akurei shouted. Crossing her arms, shadows formed a barrier between herself and Koga, absorbing the attack so it was just his fist that made contact with her arms. His strength pushed her back several feet, though. They both stood panting as they sized each other up.

"I didn't kill them, Koga. Neither did Inuyasha," she said, "I know it seems hard to believe, but why would we kill them? We had no knowledge that they were here." She held up her hands in surrender. "I don't want to fight you, so don't force my hand, Koga. I will not lift a finger to fight you, but I will fight whoever killed them."

"You two pieces of filth killed them! Don't lie to me!" he shouted. He began to charge her again, but then Kagura came out of the front door. Akurei bared her fangs at the demon.

"Oh, feel free to continue fighting," she drawled, "I just want to enjoy the show."

Koga noticed her self-assured smirk at their battle and shouted, "You killed them, didn't you?!"

"Well, I needed your shards. And that one in your arm is crystalized miasma and poison. Oh, don't seem so sad, little wolf," she said unreassuringly, "You and that half-demon there will follow your friends soon _into Hell!"_ she whipped her fan once, releasing a barrage of glowing white blades that crushed the ground and sliced everything. Akurei danced out of the way safely, only losing a few feathers, but Koga wasn't so lucky. His legs and arms were sliced up pretty badly.

"Koga!" Akurei shouted. She ran toward him and took a defensive stance in front of him. Kagura glided forward and raised her fan again. What the enemy demon didn't see was Kagome nocking an arrow and letting it fly free. It gleamed with power as it winged its way toward her, but Kagura turned and saw it and raised a shield of the dead men and wolves.

"You little wretch!" she shouted. She raised her fan and started to attack when Inuyasha swung his Tetsusaiga with his good arm, shouting, "Don't you _dare_ hurt Kagome!"

She blocked his attack and started in on him. "_Dance of the dragon!"_ she shouted. Twisters formed in the wake of her fan. He blocks the twisters and appears to be trying to find something. _She controls wind,_ thought Akurei, _so what's he looking for? Unless… _he can't sense the Windscar! _That's really not good. What can I do?_

"Kagome! Shoot me!" Inuyasha shouted suddenly. He appeared to have figured it out as well.

"What?!" Kagome cried. Her voice shot up an octave, "If I hit you, you could die!"

"Kagome, just trust me!" he yelled back.

"Okay, here goes…" she said. She put an arrow to the bowstring and let it fly. The sacred light that surrounded the arrow purified the air, making the wind change from continuous to choppy and erratic, the perfect environment for a Windscar to form.

"_Windscar!"_ Inuyasha shouts. His sword forms a golden track as it cut through the Windscar, cleaving the ground with golden shafts of light. The light cut straight through the building as though it was no more than balsa wood and it sliced Kagura's shoulder in much the same manner that her Dance of Blades sliced Koga and Akurei's family.

"Dammit!" she cried. When the Windscar passed, she plucked a feather from her hair and in a small whirlwind was safely above them and flying away.

Sango and Miroku come running out of the castle as a deafening _crack!_ fills the air and the castle begins to disappear. After a few moments, the castle's cornerstones finally melt away into the mist and the scent of Naraku fades slightly.

Kirara brings Kagome and Shippo off the roof and are greeted by the demon-slayer and the monk. As soon as Kagome sees the three injured demons she runs toward Koga, since he appeared the most injured. Akurei turned to watch Kagome and saw with a start that Koga's arm was beginning to go through what appeared to be necrosis. "The shard is poisoning him!" Kagome said. She looked extremely distressed.

"Can you save him?" Akurei asked. In response Kagome tried to place her hand on Koga's arm, only to get shocked by the dark energy that coalesced around it.

"I can't remove it. It's too tainted," she whimpered. Inuyasha shoulders his way through with Tetsusaiga.

"Fine, then I'll just cut it out and the arm with it!" he shouted. He brought the sword down, but was stopped by both Kagome and Akurei, who moved to protect Koga.

"Don't hurt him, Inuyasha," Akurei said.

"Keh, fine, if you want that so badly," he huffed. He moved away and let the girls tend to Koga.

"Hey, Kagome, don't your arrows purify demonic auras?" Shippo asked.

"Yeah. Should I use the arrow?"

"It might work," he shrugged.

"Koga, can you hear me?" Akurei asked. He was barely conscious. "Kagome, you better do something fast. If he falls asleep now, he might not ever wake up."

"Okay." Kagome pulls out an arrow and Akurei turns away. She just couldn't think about losing someone else.

"Let me know when it's over," she said. She stood and walked away. When she looked up, she spotted Inuyasha sitting next to Kirara and looking very beat-up. Favoring her shoulder, she made her way over to Inuyasha. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, but that damned wolf shattered my arm," he grunted.

She moved to his right side and was about to take his arm when she stopped short. "May I?" she asked, gesturing to the prone limb. Her shoulder already seemed a bit better, at least, it wasn't burning with every movement now. He nodded and she gently took his arm and pressed in several places, noting where Inuyasha hissed in pain. "Yeah, he did a pretty good number on us both." After a few more light examinations, she said, "I'm going to bind this. It's just a precaution because I don't know how severe the injury is, and I don't know how fast you heal."

Risking the damage to her shoulder, she unwrapped it and quickly cleaned the linen. Once it was presentable, she began by binding his shoulder to prevent the upper bone pieces from moving and then bent his arm to hold the elbow in place, preventing it from getting jerked. After that was done, she wrapped his forearm, taking extra care to not constrict it too much since both of the bones in his arm seemed to be broken. Once that was done, she tied it off and sat back. "Is that better? Is it too tight?"

"No, thanks," he said.

"Well, try not to move it that much and it should be better soon. On a human, you'd be hospitalized for weeks and then have to heal for months, but demons and half-demons alike seem to have accelerated healing, so it shouldn't be anywhere near as long for you." She cradled her left arm and winced when she tilted her head. "He got my shoulder, too."

"Damn," was all Inuyasha said.

"Yep. I hope Koga's okay," she said. Tears spilled down her cheeks, creating tracks as the blood was cleaned off of her face by them. "All of them… They're all gone… Why…? Why would they be so _hair-brained_?" She dropped her head and her shoulders shook, but the pain wasn't enough for her to hold her tears back.

Inuyasha didn't say anything for a few moments. "That's what Naraku does, Akurei. He takes someone you love and manipulates you through their death or by controlling their life. It's the same scheme over and over, but he's always doing it. It's like he's playing a game."

"Yeah, but it doesn't hurt any less to know that it's that _filth_ who killed members of my Tribe." She wiped her face with her good hand.

"Everyone of us has been wronged by Naraku in some way," he said, "Miroku's grandfather was cursed with the Wind Tunnel, and it's been passed down to him. And Sango's brother was captured by Naraku. He keeps stealing Kagome's shards of the Jewel, too."

She sniffed and looked up. "And what about you?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"He killed Kikyo," was all he said. He just couldn't fight his exhaustion anymore, and neither could Akurei. She curled up on the ground and he leaned against Kirara, quickly falling into a deep sleep.


	19. XIX: Miroku's Past Meets His Present

**Yo! Sorry this took so long to write, but I had absolutely NO motivation! xD By the way, keep an eye on my profile. I have subjects that are up for discussion, so PLEASE PM me if you have ideas for any of the ideas! I would love it SO much if you did! So... enjoy! ^^**

**Chapter XIX: Miroku's Past Meets His Present**

Akurei and Sango were getting water. Ever since Sango pulled the half-demon from her grief-madness, the two were a bit more amiable. Akurei was keeping watch as a dragon on Sango's shoulder while the other filled several bottles of clean water.

Shouts and splashing reached her ears and when she turned, she saw a bandaged man on a horse surrounded by some servants armed with rakes and shovels. One of the men shouted, "We've found her, my lord! It's Koharu!"

"Get her!" the man on the horse ordered.

_Oh, crap,_ Akurei yipped, _Sango, get up._

The demon-hunter looked up from what she was doing in time to see one of the men charging her very clumsily. She stood rapidly, causing Akurei to fall off of her shoulder and into the marsh. With a swift movement, she hit the man on the head with her canteen, and Akurei leapt and attacked the second man that was attempting to sneak behind her. He went down in a clumsy fall and clawed at the small dragon that was scratching away at his face and neck. He tossed her off and right as Akurei was about to attack again, Inuyasha bounds in and knocks the other men away. He makes short work of them and sends them running off to whatever village they came from before turning back to the girls.

"Are you okay, Sango?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," she replied. Akurei shifted back, and promptly fell backwards off the little stone into the water again, finishing the thorough soaking that happened the first time she fell in. just then, a young girl runs over, "Are you alright?"

"Are you Koharu?" Sango asked.

"Yes. My apologies for them coming after you. I fear they would have taken you had they not been driven away."

"Well, that's all well and good, but can we get out of this bog and get a nice fire going? It's kinda cold, you know," Akurei said. Indeed, she had already begun shivering and water dripped off her ears and ran down her face and arms, chilling her.

"Alright. Let's go," Sango agreed. Akurei shifted back into a small dragon and climbed onto her shoulder as Kagome and Miroku walked up.

"Hey, Sango. Did something happen?" the priestess asked.

"Oh, hello, Kagome," Sango replied, "Yes, we found a young girl. Her name is Koharu."

The girl mentioned came out from behind her. "Hello," she said.

"Hello, my name's Kagome," she introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said with a small bow. When she stood upright again, she spied the monk behind Kagome and her eyes widened. "Miroku? Is that you?"

Miroku turned around startled as Koharu hugged him. "Um, have we met before?" he asked. He looked extremely uncomfortable, but was trying to hide it. Akurei snickered from Sango's shoulder and jumped down onto a big rock. She shifted back and said, "Hey, Miroku, can't even remember your exes?"

Kagome elbowed her, but was trying to hide her smirk. The two girls were having a really hard time keeping their composure as they watched the exchange going on between them. Miroku was trying, and mostly failing, to extricate himself from her arms when she said, "Do you not remember me, Miroku? I am a fully-grown woman, now, not the little girl I was when we first met."

"Wait, what did you say to her?" Sango asked.

"He asked me to bear his children when I was younger," Koharu replied. She was sticking quite closely to Miroku while the others skittered away from him.

"Miroku! You pervert!" Akurei said.

"Yeah, Miroku. Seriously," Sango agreed. She and Akurei gave him cold looks before Kagome said, "Well, we probably should get going."

"Good idea," Akurei agreed. "Miroku? You gonna come with us or are you going to 'reacquaint' yourself with your girlfriend?"

"Well, we can't leave her here. She's still young to be out alone," Kagome reasoned.

"Yes, we should find a village that's safe enough for her to stay in," Miroku suggested.

"That's smart," the priestess agreed. "Let's take her and find somewhere safe."

Akurei nodded and shifted into a dragon. Sango had Kirara change into her larger form and leapt onto her back. Miroku climbed on behind her, with Koharu sitting behind him. Kagome and Inuyasha sat on Akurei's back and Shippo sat on Kagome's shoulder. The two animals leapt up into the air and started to fly to find a village.

After several hours of flight and searching, the group managed to find a peaceful-looking village. It appeared to not have been raided or attacked by anything, so they landed in front of the village head's house. Kagome and Inuyasha dismounted quickly enough that Akurei was able to transform back before the village head saw her as a dragon. Miroku walked up with Kagome and Koharu and said something quietly to him, probably the question of Koharu living in his village. He nods and motions for everyone to come inside.

"Um, I think we should get a move on," Akurei said nervously, "I mean, we've gotta keep looking for the shards, right?"

"Oh please stay," Koharu begged, "It's frightening, being here."

Tears began to well up in her eyes as she looked around nervously. Miroku comforted her and gave Akurei a meaningful look to not make a snide remark. Ever since the battle at Naraku's castle, the half-demon had been less agreeable than Inuyasha on a bad day, something the others thought was impossible until recently. Sango, who had recently become Akurei's biggest sympathizer, laid her hand on her shoulder and whispered, "You don't have to stay. We just have to be polite."

"I'll stay one night. After that, I'm flying ahead," she replied.

"Alright. Miroku," she called. "I don't think we can stay long."

"Yes, that's true," Kagome said.

"No, we need to get going," Inuyasha said. "If we take any more detours, Naraku might end up with all the shards, or that damned wolf will get them."

"I agree," Akurei said, "well, not with him badmouthing Koga, but we do need to get moving."

"Please stay, at least for the night," Koharu pleaded.

Miroku began to walk away from the building, "Koharu, come with us. We need to speak about this matter thoroughly."

The group walked over to the top of a hill just outside of the village. "Koharu, I need to speak with you."

He took her down to the base of the hill and began speaking to her. The others watched for a few minutes, but then began their discussion of whether or not they should stay the night.

"I really say we should move on," Akurei said.

"Yeah. We can't afford any more side trips," Inuyasha agreed.

"But we should make sure Koharu's settled in before we leave," Kagome reasoned.

"I agree with Kagome," little Shippo put in.

"And besides, we can't take her with us. She could end up dead by morning," Akurei mentioned, both unhelpfully and unreassuringly.

"That's true. Well, it appears the headman is willing to take her in, so she can stay here. How about just for the night? After all, Kagome is right, we should be polite to them for taking her in," Sango suggested.

"Good idea, Sango," Kagome said.

Seeing that Kagome and Sango were willing to stay and Koharu wanted them to stay so badly, Inuyasha and Akurei relented. "Alright. Just for the night, though," Akurei said.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Koharu was, of course, excited that the others were staying for the night. She chattered so much about how she was going to cook them a huge meal and take care of them so much that Akurei had to excuse herself to sit on the roof for a while. She sat close to the chimney so the warm smoke kept her from getting chilled. It helped with her stiff shoulder, too. After looking to make sure nobody was around, she hunched down and started crying quietly. _At least Okami wasn't killed. I don't know what I would have done if he died,_ she thought. She started to sob more strongly, and took flight so she wouldn't be heard. After flying blindly, she alighted on a random tree in a forest not too far from the village. Only after catching the scent of human blood did she realize something had gone terribly wrong in the village.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

She leapt into the air and flew frantically back to the village. She saw that Miroku and Inuyasha were fighting off the villagers, but neither of them was bleeding. Since they clearly weren't the source for the bleeding, Akurei was very confused. She dropped down and swept many of the villagers away with her wings, getting scratched and stabbed several times in the process. "What happened?!" she shouted.

"We're not sure. All these villagers just up and attacked us," Inuyasha said. He punched another villager away and nearly got hit from behind until Miroku caught the weapon with his staff.

"They're not acting right," she replied.

"Yes, we know. We think they're under some kind of spell," Miroku said. His staff jangled as he knocked men back. "Inuyasha! Akurei! Look over there!" he pointed at the dust and leaves that were spinning around in some kind of whirlwind, and at the emerging shape of a demoness. It was Kagura!

"Inuyasha! Akurei! How nice to see you again," she drawled. Her fan was spread, and after that first time the group met her, they knew that it meant she was controlling people or preparing to attack.

"Are you controlling them?!" Inuyasha shouted.

"Well, what do you think?" she smirked.

"You bitch! You're going to use innocents all for the sake of destroying us?!" Akurei shouted.

"Well, what am I supposed to do? I can't exactly kill that priestess. Someone's already doing that for me," she smiled evilly as she tapped her fan against her chin.

"Miroku, go check on the girls. Make sure they're okay," Inuyasha told him.

"Right," he turned and jogged away. Akurei shifted into a dragon and stood beside Inuyasha as he unsheathed his Tetsusaiga.

Silence pervaded the air as the three squared off. Kagura raised her fan and a current of wind swirled around them, smooth and continuous. Akurei's hackles raised and she growled, stepping slightly closer to Inuyasha.

Had she not been paying close attention to her enemy, she would have missed the slight movement of her fan, which accompanied the wind going from smooth to choppy. Inuyasha tensed beside her and brought his sword up. Akurei trusted his instincts and stayed close to his side, prepared to attack.

Inuyasha brought Tetsusaiga down, shouting, "_Windscar!_"

As the golden fissures sped their way to Kagura, the wind sorceress smirked and waved her fan, causing her to spin around and a small albino child with a mirror to turn to the front. The Windscar raced towards her….

…and was reflected back on Inuyasha.

He had absolutely no time to react and was mowed over by his own attack. The far right fissure clipped Akurei's left shoulder as she tried to leap out of the way. Akurei felt the bone break in the same spot that Koga broke it and yelped.

She landed on three limbs away from Inuyasha and favored her left leg. When she tried to put even an ounce of weight on it, pain shot up and down her damaged limb. The dragon turned around and saw her friend lying prone on the broken earth.

She limped over and tried to rouse him as Miroku ran over. _He got hit with his own Windscar,_ she told him.

He nodded and they both heard Kagura shout, "_Dance of Blades!_" sending crescents of light slicing through the air and earth. Akurei turned in response and raised her wings, creating her shield of shadows. The defense only held up for a moment, but protected them from most of the blades. She however was clipped on her right shoulder by a stray one that got past her defenses.

She growled and right as Kagura sent another volley of her Dance of Blades, a Sacred Arrow descended in a flurry of purple light, dispersing the attack. Kirara landed behind the two half-demons and monk and Kagome slid off of her back. Akurei looked back and sighed with relief that Kagome had arrived. When she saw Kagome's angered expression, she turned around and saw someone who could only be Naraku.

"Naraku, how dare you!" Kagome shouted. She nocked another arrow and drew the string back. The little albino demon held her mirror up.

Naraku chuckled and said, "Even if you do shoot me with your arrow, Kanna will just deflect it."

"Don't be ridiculous. My arrow only strikes evil." She pulled back a tiny bit more and loosed the arrow.

It winged its way and struck Kanna's mirror. Right as she held it up, the arrow struck it. The Sacred Arrow sank through the surface of the mirror, infusing it with bright violet light.

Kanna pulled the mirror close to her body and whispered something. Akurei couldn't make out what she said, but suspected it had something to do with the powers of the mirror because a crack formed and suddenly, blue-white balls of light came streaking out of it, each landing on one of the villagers and several struck Kagome. Akurei saw them meld with her body and she regained her energy.

When the dragon turned around again, she saw that Naraku was getting away with his minions. She roared and shouted, _I will find you! And I will _end_ your life!_

The last thing she heard from the trio was Naraku's sick laughter.

Akurei shifted back and rocked from side to side, trying not to fall. The pain in her shoulder was immense, but she knew Inuyasha was much worse off. She limped over and looked at her friend. "Is he okay?" she asked Kagome.

"I don't know. But we need to move him," she said.

"Okay," she replied.

She slumped down to the ground in pain and placed her hand on her shoulder. With tender movements, she untied the linen on her right shoulder and wrapped her left one as best she could. It wasn't the best, but it would have to do.

"Where should we move him?" Akurei asked.

"I don't know. But we need to get away from this village."

"Okay. Lead the way," she said. She stood and helped Kagome put Inuyasha onto Kirara's back. They turned and started to try and find a safe haven.


	20. XX: Broken Sword, Broken Clan

**Hello all! I have some questions that I'd like you all to consider whilst reading this (or any previous/future chapters):  
1. Feel free to let me know if you ever have any questions about any of the characters. I can answer all (and if not, I can always BS something... X3).  
2. Working on a sequel, even though it's out of order. xD  
3. PM me if you have ANY kinds of ideas for dialogue between characters, insults, awkward love triangles that are hilarious and suck at the same time, cameos of your characters or other characters, etc. I will credit you at the beginning of the chapter I use your idea in since that's only fair. This is to make the whole thing entertaining for not just me, but you as well. Also it helps me from being stale in my word-choice and word-play.  
4. I also have other fanfics, but I'm not entirely sure if I should start posting them... So far, I only have a few chapters in each and I won't be updating them as frequently as I do this one, simply because this is pretty much the cornerstone of who Akurei is and why things happen the way they do (in following stories and fanfics, that is).**

**And I know I've never done either of these so I'll get them out of the way and let you lot read the next chapter!**

Disclaimer: I do **NOT** own any part of the Inuyasha series written by Rumiko Takashi or any part of the anime.

Special thanks from Akurei to...  
Sangoscourage, WishingAuthor, and Rosesayin for always giving me excellent feedback and sticking with me even though they know I'm only getting started with this fanfic.

**Chapter XX: Broken Sword, Broken Clan**

Akurei was moping again as she sat with Inuyasha. The half-demon still hadn't woken up from his fight with Kagura and Kagome and the others were out trying to find herbs. She swished a finger in the water and checked his cool-cloth on his forehead. It was warm, so she walked out of the little hut to the stream and rinsed out the rags. She was filling the little bucket with water when she heard the flap open then fall shut again. The sound of a sword scraping the ground reached her ears, so she looked up and saw Inuyasha limping along. "Inuyasha?" she asked.

He ignored her, focusing on something. She followed his gaze and saw some pale blue-green serpentine demons winding their way through the air lazily. They seemed to be waiting for him as they wound their way through the trees and continuing on when Inuyasha followed. "Oh no," she murmured. She hastily placed the rags inside the bucket and tossed it onto a rock before running to go find Kagome and the others.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So they glowed?" Kagome asked as the group ran back to the hut.

"Yeah, kind of," Akurei panted. "But he still needs to rest. That fight with Kagura really did a number on him."

"No kidding," she replied.

They got back to the hut and Akurei dropped to the ground, trying to follow his scent. She managed to lead Kagome to a forested area, where Akurei saw the demons, and out stumbled Inuyasha. He was leaning heavily on his sword. "Inuyasha!" Akurei ran forward and put his arm over her shoulder, helping him sit on a rock.

"I'm fine, quit hovering," he snapped, but it seemed a tad… empty.

Kagome looked at him, her eyes hard. "You went to see Kikyo, didn't you?"

"'Kikyo?'" Akurei muttered. She knew she heard the name somewhere before. _Kikyo…_ she pondered.

_"Everyone of us has been wronged by Naraku in some way."_

_"And what about you?" _

_"…He killed Kikyo."_

Her mind instantly made the connection that this was the same Kikyo Inuyasha was talking about. _But wait,_ she thought. _I thought he said she died._

"Didn't she die?" she asked aloud.

"It's… a long story," Inuyasha finished lamely.

Kagome huffed and stomped away. "What's her problem?" Inuyasha asked.

"That's what I want to know," Akurei said. The two half-demons stared after the priestess, befuddled.

"Inuyasha," Miroku sighed. He conked his friend on the head with his staff, "Do you not understand?"

"Obviously not," Shippo muttered on the monk's shoulder.

"Can you explain it to me?" Akurei asked. "Because he said that this Kikyo person was dead," she pointed at Inuyasha, "And you all are acting like she's alive. It doesn't make sense." Inuyasha stood and swayed, making Akurei catch him before he fell and help him limp back to the hut to rest. She left him alone and Sango stood waiting. Miroku and Sango led Akurei away from the hut a ways so their talk wouldn't disturb Inuyasha, and they began to tell her of the complicated past that Inuyasha and Kikyo share.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So, you see, that's why Kagome is angry right now," Miroku finished.

"Wow," she said, sitting back after the explanation her friends gave. "That's certainly defines 'convoluted.'"

They gave her confused looks and she clarified, "It's another way to say 'complicated.'"

They nodded and sat back.

Akurei leaned her head against her hand and sighed. "Well, that explains Naraku's obsession with games. He's addicted to them," she observed.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Akurei was sprinting alongside Inuyasha, who was carrying Kagome, and Miroku and Sango followed on Kirara. The two half-demons were following the smell of fresh blood and the distinctive scent of Naraku's demonic aura.

The group came across a village that reeked of blood. Akurei's eyes widened at the sheer number of bodies. Well, the remains weren't exactly bodies so much as scattered pieces and massive pools of blood, as though the people were ripped to shreds. They continued through, following the trail of bodies and blood until they came across a giant purple demon. It had a giant spider mark on its back and was currently ripping apart a building, revealing two small children who were holding their parents' heads.

Akurei sprinted forward and knocked its claws away from the children while Inuyasha ran between her and the demon, drawing its attention with his sword.

"Get out of here!" Inuyasha shouted at the kids.

They nodded and ran off down the street. Akurei noted their escape and turned her attention to the demon before her. Akurei sprang forward and swiped at the demon with her claws, only to get thrown back. The demon's claws sunk deep into her side, knocking her out of the fight for good. She hit the ground hard, gasping in pain.

She heard Inuyasha attack and the battle resume, but she was too weak to get up herself. She tried and slumped down again, unconscious.

**OOC: POV Third Person Inuyasha**

Inuyasha saw Akurei fall after being struck by the demon. He tightened his grip on Tetsusaiga and shouted, "Why did you attack these villagers?!"

"I am Goshinki. I was told to destroy this village by Naraku. I will consume the flesh of everyone in this village!" it cried.

"Not if I stop you!" Inuyasha retorted. "_Windscar!"_

He struck, sending golden waves of destruction right to the demon, but it dodged so quickly. The Windscar never touched him. Inuyasha started in surprise and he heard skidding behind him.

He whipped around and saw the demon behind him.

"You were not expecting that to happen, were you?" the demon asked Inuyasha. "I can hear your thoughts and evade your attacks before you even have a chance to strike."

He turned to look at Miroku, Sango, and Kagome. "And you, monk, I will kill you before you have an opportunity to open your Wind Tunnel. Sango, you're still incapacitated after being struck by your own weapon. And Kagome, I will destroy you before you can draw the string on your bow."

The demon turned back to face Inuyasha. He laughs mockingly and Inuyasha growls, leaping at him and swinging Tetsusaiga with all his might.

"I know what you're planning to do!" it told him before closing its jaws around the blade of his sword. The demon bit down with more force, snapping the sword in half.

"What?" Inuyasha gasped. He started to descend from his leap and is sliced by the demon's claws. He lands back on his feet and notices that Akurei still hasn't awoken from her injury. "Get up!" he cried. Goshinki attacked him again and began beating at Inuyasha with his claws.

Inuyasha was getting severely beat up. He could take a lot, but this was pushing his limits. The wound in his side was bleeding profusely and he was starting to get dizzy because of it. Goshinki swiped at him again, and Inuyasha dodged, swaying on his feet and stumbling when he landed. Sensing weakness, Goshinki sped forward again and struck the already weak half-demon, sending him flying, the broken shards of his sword falling around him.

He landed on his stomach and when he tried to rise again, he too, fell back to the ground and into darkness.

**OOC: POV – Third Person Kagome**

Kagome stared in horror as she saw first Akurei, then Inuyasha fall to the enormous demon's claws. "Inuyasha!" she cried. "Akurei!"

She started to move forward, but was stopped by Miroku. "Don't, he'll kill you Lady Kagome."

Goshinki turned to face them, the sneer etched onto his face. His fangs glinted evilly, the very same fangs that destroyed Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga. Now Kagome was really mad. Nobody was going to hurt Inuyasha or Akurei and get away with it.

"His mind is empty. Is he dead?" the demon growled.

Just as she was going to go and beat the living crap out of Goshinki, a flash of red whipped past and sliced the demon's arm clean off. The group stared in surprise when they saw the figure land.

It was Inuyasha! Only… he looked strange. Kagome noticed something odd about him. She took a closer look and saw that the sclerae of his eyes were blood-red and that there were jagged violet streaks along the sides of his face, like Sesshomaru's only there was only one on each side. His face terrified her, not just because of his eyes and markings, but his fangs had grown to incredible length! He looked like a demon if she ever saw one.

"What'd you say, Goshinki?" the demon-Inuyasha growled. His voice sounded gravelly and rabid as it was muffled by his fangs.

Surprised, Goshinki turned around and spotted the demon.

_Inuyasha's different somehow,_ Kagome thought, terrified.

Before Goshinki could respond, Inuyasha leapt up much higher than he ever could normally, and when he brought his claws down, the elongated nails slicing through the demon. Goshinki cried out a final time as his body disintegrated.

Inuyasha stared with glee in his blood-lust filled eyes as the remaining pieces fell from the great height that used to be Goshinki. Kagome started to move forward to go to him, but stopped when his head whipped around.

A loud growl filled the air and Kagome's eyes followed the sound to where Inuyasha stood defensively in front of another demon.

The growling was emitted by something that looked like Akurei, but at the same time, it wasn't. This demoness had bright violet sclera with her silver irises almost completely washed to whiteness. Her eyes looked like those of a dragon that came from the very depths of Hell, as their shape was one that didn't seem to belong to her face. Dark grey markings flowed from under her hair and ended just above her eyebrows and lighter silver markings appeared around her jaw, lining the mandible beneath it. Black horns curled from just behind her ears and Kagome saw that two more horns peeked out from her hair. Fangs protruded from her mouth the same way Inuyasha's did. When Akurei flared her wings, the bones protruded into claws at the bottom and two blades stuck out of the center joint. She stalked forward a few steps and her talons bit deeply into the earth, her hands matching in color and scales. Her tail swished as the two half-demons stalked in a circle around each other.

Inuyasha growled and Akurei snarled in retaliation. She ducked down into a crouch, preparing to spring, but Inuyasha beat her to it. He leapt onto her back and the two instantly began to grapple and claw at each other. Inuyasha had the upper hand in strength and location, since he was on top of her, but Akurei had the advantage of agility. He was dislodged from her back and Akurei rolled on top of him. He clawed at her exposed belly but stopped as Akurei attempted to bite him. He snarled at her and threw her off of him. She landed hard and yelped. It was loud, but not enough to cover the crack of wood against her back. Akurei rolled and her hands and paws slid against the hard-packed earth. Her tail lashed as she hissed and swiped her claws in front of her. Inuyasha responded by stalking forward. In an attempt to trip him up, Akurei flung the tree branch remains at his legs, but he just leapt lightly over it and landed right in front of her, bringing his claws down on Akurei. She yowled in pain and retaliated with a few punishing cuts of her own.

Kagome couldn't take it anymore and ran forward. The two beasts heard her approach and turned to face this new threat.

"Stay away!" the demon-Inuyasha growled. He swiped his claws in front of himself, telling her to get away.

"Get away!" Akurei growled.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said softly, "Akurei." She took a few more steps toward them and said, "Sit," softly.

Inuyasha slammed into the ground, taking Akurei with him as his limbs flailed. Kagome crouched down quickly to check on her friends and the two heads whipped up, indignation in their eyes.

"Kagome! What was that for?" Inuyasha griped.

"Seriously, did you have to drag me down with you?" Akurei grouched to Inuyasha.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The others were resting well away from the village when Akurei remembered something important and stood. "I have to go."

She started to walk away but was stopped when Sango grabbed her wrist. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I have to tell Aki the news of what's happened to our Tribe and I have to warn the wolf demons of Naraku's obsession with games. They can't get involved in this. We're strong, but he'll just decimate our numbers the instant he gets control of even one of us," she said. "And besides," she pulled away, "I have to tell them what's become of our brethren."

Sango nodded and let her wrist free. "Okay. I understand that you have to tell them. Be careful."

With a sad smile, she made her way to the edge of the forest quickly, taking off when she was clear of the branches.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Akurei flew into the wind, her hair whipping back and her feathers making hardly a whisper as she soared over hills and valleys. Once in a while she would duck down to make sure she was on the right track, and once to drink the blood of a demon that was harassing a village, revitalizing her and healing her injuries that remained after the fight against Goshinki and later, Inuyasha.

She glided down into the rocky valley that led to the heart of the Northern Tribe territory. She sniffed lightly and noticed that the markers the wolves usually left were faint, meaning that they had pulled in due to their lessened numbers. Rubbing her scent onto some somewhat scrubby trees and marked several rocks with scratches from her talons, she was letting other demons know that the edges of the territory still belonged to the Wolf Demon Tribe of the North.

She walked forward a few steps and rocked into a run. It had been some time since she ran through the rocky terrain where she learned how to control her demonic abilities. As she loped through the steep-faced canyons, she saw scar marks left by the wind, water, claws, talons, and bellies of demons, and her demonic energy as she learned to wield it. _I should practice sometime,_ she thought, _I'm still not that strong when it comes to my attacks_.

Scratching sounds met her ears and she glanced around. The half-demon spotted a few wolves, one pitch black, two charcoal, and one the soft grey of bedrock. The canines escorted her until she found the bare side of the mountain where the wolf demons made their den. Deciding to be expedient and just deliver the bad news to get it over with, she leapt up and spread her wings just enough to make it up the cavern, landing lightly on her feet.

The sudden darkness made her blink a few times to get adjusted to it, but she looked and saw the golden-green reflections everyone's eyes left. There were fewer demons and wolves here, and Akurei knew the reason why.

"Hello, Akurei!" a few of them called.

"Hey, guys," she replied. "Where's Aki? I have really bad news."

The other eyes instantly focused on her. "What happened?" Daichi, one of the subordinates, asked.

"Daiki is dead."


End file.
